The opening sequence of this episode is one of the very few times you see Castillo in attire other than his black tie, pants and white shirt.
Switek and Zito's "Bug Van" makes its first appearance.
John Santucci, who plays Dale Menton in this episode, was a real-life jewel thief before being hired by Michael Mann to serve as technical advisor on Thief (1981); Santucci also appeared as a corrupt detective in the movie. He continued to work with Mann throughout the 1980s, particularly on Crime Story (1986) (starring Dennis Farina, who was a cop before becoming an actor and in fact arrested Santucci at one point).
While discussing the Lao Li case over dinner, Castillo mentions putting Crockett and Tubbs back on the Al Lombard investigation if they don't find any evidence against Li soon, indicating the department is still after the mobster. Lombard would be mentioned in passing again in Nobody Lives Forever (1985), before the Vice team's investigation into him finally reaches its conclusion in the season finale, Lombard (1985).
Early in the episode, Menton angrily calls Castillo an "arrogant bastard". While it is commonplace today, "bastard" was considered rather strong language for a television show in the 1980s - the fifth season "pushed the envelope" when, among other things, it made frequent use of the words "bitch" and "bastard".