Border Patrol Discovers Ingenious Drug and Diamond Smuggling Methods in Trucks and SUVs

Border Patrol Discovers Ingenious Drug and Diamond Smuggling Methods in Trucks and SUVs

Customs and Border Protection officers at various ports of entry uncover creative smuggling attempts, including cocaine hidden in truck bodywork and diamonds concealed in a car's interior. A fuel tanker with a modified cab and a SUV with secret compartments also yield significant drug seizures. The operations highlight the cat-and-mouse game between authorities and cartels.

Season 7’s Most Clever Hiding Spots | Contraband: Seized at the Border Discovery. | Transcript:

All right, let's take a look. With suspicious shapes appearing on the image, officers carry out a physical inspection. So, he said that the anomalies were possibly on the left and on the right quarter panel. So, we're going to check real quick. I mean, we see that there's missing bolts as you can see right there. Bravo one and tip from lane. Hola. Good morning, ma'am. In Eagle Pass, officers suspect a pickup may be carrying narcotics hidden inside the bodywork. or what I can see is some rectangle or square like figures. The team brings in the canine unit to sweep the vehicle. And it soon alerts to a suspicious scent. We're going to go ahead and uh send it to the back to the lift away from the public and we're going toh go ahead and

try to find the secret compartment. Take the fenders off and uh see what we find in this vehicle. Officers get to work on both sides of the truck. Try to push the package back and then the other day off. Winner. Hidden beneath false plates wedged above the wheel arches are multiple packages. The driver is immediately detained for questioning while the team begins the extraction. One more inside. But the final packages are the hardest to remove.

There's a uh there's [clears throat] a package that is that seems to be stuck. There you go. It's very difficult to sometimes get these packages out because they're they're covered in grease. Put your hand in there. Got it. Yeah. Officers have recovered 16 packages of suspected narcotics hidden deep inside the fenders of a truck. In the seizure room, a chemical testing kit will confirm what the substance is. Test kit works with the chemicals in there. We had three vials in there. He break one by one. If you can see there, right there on the test kit, it shows the separation between the blue and the pink. There's a line there that

separates. It means that it's positive for cooking. With an estimated 30,000 people dying in the US every year from the effects of cocaine abuse, it's a significant seizure. We extracted a total of 16 packages from the truck. It came out to 16.7 keys. Today, officers have intercepted half a million dollars worth of the drug that will now be impounded and destroyed. The driver of the truck will be questioned by Homeland Security investigations. If he's involved, he's looking at a substantial prison sentence.

It was a good load. You feel excited whenever you get the opportunity to get these uh drugs from the streets that destroy thousands of lives. Farbridge. A fuel tanker being driven by a preapproved driver with a fast pass has been stopped. It's an anomaly right here. Actually, suspicious shapes in the driver's sleeping compartment have shown up in an X-ray. some type of rectangles that are actually darker than the surrounding areas. While the driver is detained in the cells, the tanker is taken to a secure area where officer Hina Hosa immediately spots more irregularities. the difference between the sleeper and

the cab. There's about a 4 in difference. And then if we make our way back here, we'll be able to see that the sleeper supposed to be standing on airbags. For some reason, they were taken off. They zero in on this area. The anomaly was uh underneath the mattress. got all his personal boots. Uh, but you can see there's there's a break here on the floor. And that's fiberglass, right? Yes. This sleeper is normally made out of cheap metal, so there shouldn't be any fiberglass. There's a mat. There's a compartment.

The cab's been modified to create a hidden storage area beneath the driver's bed. Oh, we I see something. Oh, you see that? We got bundles. We got it. Here's one. Here's another. The cab's been modified to create a hidden storage area beneath the driver's bed. It's a very good sophisticated compartment. They ain't getting luck this time. There you go. The secret compartment is packed full. 30 packages. That's great, man. That was the last one. That's what I call an empty compartment right there. The bundles are taken to the seizure room to be processed.

I strongly believe it's going to be cocaine, but it could be uh crystal meth. Using laser analysis, the testing kit can identify over 14,000 substances, including all the common narcotics. Peel it open just enough so I can shoot my laser in there. And sure enough, my guess was correct. 100% cocaine. All 30 packages contain cocaine. We're going to go ahead and transfer the 30 packages over to our scale and we're going to determine the weight.

Over 90% of cocaine headed to the US from South America travels through Mexico. And every package that's intercepted disrupts that trade. 34.56 kilos of cocaine. Even if the driver was coerced by a criminal gang, he's likely to be facing significant jail time. Today's bust has taken drugs with an estimated street value of over $1 million out of the hands of the cartels and their dealers.

It's a significant amount and we are stopping that narcotic from entering the United States. It was a teamwork and it was a great result. Attention to primary office. Every year, $400 billion dollars of dirty money is laundered into Latin America. Much of it the profits from drugs sold in the US. at the Huarez Lincoln Bridge. Catching this cash in transit is a top priority. You got your bad guys that are bringing the listen money back from whatever they took up north. They're taking it back down south. Could be 100,000, could be 50, could be, you know, 200,000.

They'll try and hide it. It's a can mouse game. And that's how we play here. Today, a man traveling into Mexico has been stopped by officer Sarmiento. As he searches the car, the driver seems nervous. Stuffed down the side of the seat are several envelopes. How many carrots is that one? Three carrot. The first packet contains a diamond. One this size could be worth upward of $50,000.

Within the remaining envelopes are more precious stones. Cool. Small cut diamonds and other valuable jewelry. Here we have two bracelets. Uh 14k white gold. Two bracelets. Meanwhile, outside officers discover more envelopes hidden in the footwell. Inside one, an emerald diamond cluster ring. Since any goods worth over $10,000 must be declared, officers need to know more about the man's motives. The gentleman was crossing through here with violence undeclared. So, we need to take a stance on it and find out. Okay,

what do we got? Where is he coming from? Where's he going? So, we can find out whether he's doing something legal or not. The man claims he's just a courier hired to deliver the goods to an address in Mexico. The officers think he could be a mule for a cartel, using the diamonds as the perfect money laundering currency. Diamonds would be a good way to launder money cuz diamonds are worth a lot and uh they're smaller to transport and they'll they'll sell them over there and get their money in Mexico.

Until the officers get answers, this man is going nowhere. The Progresso International Bridge links southern Texas with the Mexican border town of Noeo Progresso where a cluster ofies sells medicines up to 80% cheaper than in the US. Why is it open? But there are strict controls on what meds can be brought back into the US. So you have too much of this medication. The limit is 50 pills a month. You have four times the limit. I find medication in a lot of different places. Some that you would never expect. That's why we look somewhere that we would never expect because they're creative.

This morning, a man who says he works as a barber has been detained after being caught with undeclared medication hidden inside a cookie box. We had a looks like a male subject who was bringing in four bottles of uh Botox. The muscle relaxant is a prescription only medication. While it's legal to bring small amounts across the border, failing to declare it is a criminal offense which could result in a fine or even arrest. We see more tradion, you know, those are the more popular items that we see like boats inside a cookie box. It's the first time for me.

Never seen it. Officer Ortega questions the man about his motives. All right, bro. Right now, we're looking at probably getting arrested and if you help us out here, right? You cooperate with us. Everything's going to be cool. You probably just face a penalty. If you don't, then come pick. You know what you're bringing? Uh, yes, bro. I do. What is it? Um, it's uh for my headaches. It's a botox. You're bringing it for you? Yeah, for me personally. Although commonly associated with cosmetic procedures, the medication can also be used to treat migraines.

Why did you have it hitting, man? Why? Um cuz last time I had came by, I had brought like two or three boxes with me and then y'all had question me about it. This time around, I told the pharmacist about it. He said, "Oh, don't worry about it. Like we'll take care of it. Then put it in a box." You didn't think anything was a little fishy or something suspicious then put it into a cookie box? No, I didn't think nothing at all. The fact the man has been warned by officers before does not help his case. He said the last time he brought this that he ran into an issue with us. So the pharmacist, they're the ones that put the medication in the cookie box. It

happens a lot or at least that's the story that they got. they bring to us telling us that the pharmacy is doing this and they're trying to help facilitate uh the crossing of that medication for them in a little kind of a devious sneaky way there. Travelers at the border are responsible for everything in their possession. And by following the Mexican pharmacist's advice to hide the medicine, this man has landed himself in big trouble. Not telling the truth, he's already started off on the wrong foot. They didn't declare it. They're hiding it. Social smuggling Eagle Pass port of entry is one of the busiest border crossings in North America.

Hello, Mir. How's it going, Mr. Your documents? Sir, an estimated 6.5 million pedestrians and vehicles pass through each year. Y'all bringing anything back from Mexico? We have two cases of beer. There you go. Thank you. What I said, drug cartels are known to conceal narcotics within ordinary looking vehicles, creating hidden compartments to avoid detection by CBP officers. Big vehicles such as SUVs or pickup trucks have larger wheels and tires. So the cartels, you get two or three vehicles of the same making model, do the same compartment and start to try and smuggle narcotics into the country.

So once we pop one, we start looking at the same year range and making models. This afternoon, a driver of an SUV who claims to be visiting the US for 3 days has raised suspicions. She was just trying to distract me so I wouldn't ask her any questions. She had no luggage. She had a high heels, a water jug, and trash. With all the red flags that she has, I'm going to send her for SE portal inspection. While the woman is detained, her vehicle is sent for an X-ray. The nominees on the right rear quarter panel and the left rear quarter panel. Sometimes it could be water bottles, sometimes it could be just trash that they have. All right, let's take a look.

With suspicious shapes appearing on the image, officers carry out a physical inspection. So, he said that the anomalies were possibly on the left and on the right quarter panel. So, we're going to check real quick. I mean, we see that there's missing bolts as you can see right there. There it is. We got bundles. Let me take a look over here real quick, too. There it is. We got more. Yeah, let's go. Having found what looks like drugs, officers move the car to a secure area to continue the search.

There's more over here, though. 6 7 8 9 10. There you go, bro. 1 2 3 4 five. So, so far we have a total of 15 packages. My guess we're probably going to find more.

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