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FBI: We don't have the Wu-Tang album, leave us alone

FBI: We don't have the Wu-Tang album, leave us alone

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According to a tweet by FBI New York, the Federal Bureau of Investigation did not seize the new Wu-Tang Clan album. How this tweet came to be is one of the stranger stories of recent months.

Earlier this year, the young drug company entrepreneur Martin Shkreli became a beacon of controversy when, "his company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, acquired the rights to an AIDS drug and jacked up its price to extortionate levels." Since then, Shkreli has bounced in and out of the spotlight, most notably by spending $2 million for the exclusive ownership of Wu-Tang Clan's new album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.

Only one copy of the Wu-Tang album exists, and Shkreli has expressed little interest in sharing the music with the world.

This morning Shkreli was arrested on suspicion of securities fraud pertaining to his leadership of another drug company, Retrophin. Social media was aflutter with speculation that the Wu-Tang album would be seized, but as the FBI's tweet explains, there was no seizure warrant at Shkreli's arrest.

That doesn't mean the Wu-Tang Clan album is safe inside Shkreli's home. According to Twitter user Rob Wesley, the contract came with a thrilling (and definitely not actually legally binding) clause that reads as follows:

"[T]he seller may legally plan and attempt to execute one (1) heist or caper to steal back Once Upon A Time In Shaolin, which, if successful, would return all ownership rights to the seller. Said heist or caper can only be undertaken by currently active members of the Wu-Tang Clan and/or actor Bill Murray, with no legal repercussions."

Shkreli has been released on $5 million bond, so the perfect window for a heist is closing as we speak. I know, I know, this won't actually happen. But it's hard not to fantasize about a Shkreli / Murray showdown to put a bow on a story in which fact is often stranger than fiction.

Update December 17, 2015, 4:50PM ET: The theoretical heist and caper clause, only sourced to Rob Wesley, was originally described as a realistic opportunity for the Wu-Tang Clan and Bill Murray. The legality and veracity of the clause has been clarified.