Original subtitles

Every year, over 200,000 tons of drugs are seized at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The sheer number of travelers we get, so we have to always be vigilant.

Cartels rely on a network of couriers to smuggle in their narcotics.

Today,

at the Eagle Pass International Bridge.

Bravo 18, Bravo 18, Tango Hotel, Lane 3.

Officers have received a tip-off that a driver returning from Mexico may be

smuggling cartel drugs in her vehicle.

This vehicle was referred for an enforcement inspection.

She was avoiding eye contact.

The car is sent to the Z portal for x-ray.

Officer Guzman suspects the dark shadows could be hidden contraband.

We're going to turn the vehicle apart to find out what it is.

If drugs are found, she could be facing a long stretch behind bars.

Let's go.

We found something.

Are we going to be put in jail?

We have to do what we have to do.

The Gateway International Bridge separates Brownsville, Texas from

the city of Matamoros, Mexico.

Each day, thousands of day-trippers cross back and forth.

And everyone coming into the U.S. is checked against the National Crime

Database.

Today, a young man returning to the U.S. after going to Mexico for a haircut has

been detained.

There's a subject who has a warrant for his arrest.

He was patted down by the officers.

With the pat-down clear, he's held in an interview room.

And you said you were getting a haircut in Mexico?

Yes, ma'am.

You stated you've never been arrested?

Never been arrested.

Never, never. Never gotten in trouble with the police?

I got a ticket, but never been arrested. Okay.

When's the last time you got a ticket that you know of?

I don't know.

Approximately the time?

I think I didn't win a year. More than a year? Okay.

Do you know who it was, what county, what police officer that you know of?

No? Okay.

Okay.

The man claims to know nothing about the warrant.

Usually when they come in and we know they have a warrant, we usually ask

them, hey, have you ever been arrested? Have you ever had trouble with police

lately? Some of them say yes, others say no, or they forget.

Public record information on the warrant comes through to Officer Anaya.

He has wanted for evading arrest.

Evading arrest is a serious crime, which can result in significant prison time.

In order

to determine that his details match those on the warrant, his fingerprints

are taken.

If he is the wanted man, he will be taken to jail.

Nothing's actually showing on the print. Nothing came up.

With the man's fingerprints not showing up in the system, officers need to find

another way to confirm if he really is the wanted man.

In Eagle Path, officers have stopped a driver returning to the U.S. from Mexico

after a tip-off revealed she may be a cartel drug courier.

Let's drop the floor for more time.

Officers begin their search.

Let's take off to Senate Council.

The trapdoor should be in the center console room.

There you go.

It's all loose, right?

When drugs are concealed in hard-to-reach places, cartels have

typically constructed a trapdoor for access.

There's no one in the trapdoor, right? No?

Bueno, let's go ahead and take off the seat.

But so far, no such door can be found.

Officers begin the painstaking process of removing the seats to continue their

hunt.

They put a lot of work into trying to hide it. It takes a lot of ingenuity to

put them in like that, especially in the floor.

With loads this big, cartels often hide a tracker to keep tabs on their couriers

and product.

Before officers continue their search, they need to make sure no

one else is listening in.

This is the tracker.

They're usually put under the steering wheel on this area.

It's the communication between the driver and whoever is in the vehicle,

and also there might be mics inside, so that's enough if they're hearing us,

whatever we're talking about.

Officer Carranco has broken the signal.

The team can now resume the inspection.

knowing the cartel isn't monitoring their conversation.

And it's not long before another trapdoor is found.

It looks

like it's going to be the entire floor from both sides.

For the officers, this could be a major seizure.

At the Gateway International Bridge, a young man returning from getting a

haircut in Mexico has been detained.

You stated you've never been arrested?

Despite his denials, he's wanted for evading arrest.

But right now, his fingerprints don't match anyone on file.

To confirm whether or not he is the wanted man.

Officer Anaya needs to dig deeper into his background.

You can zoom in there.

As well as confirming his social security details, he reveals he's a semi

-professional boxer with an upcoming fight.

He said he has a fight pro-boxing.

That's his fight.

And this is him right here.

He may be known in the ring.

But Officer Anaya still needs to confirm his ID.

I'm going to call sector C if they have a photo of the subject just to verify if

it's a match.

Yes, I was calling because we have a wanted person here.

I already fingerprinted him, but nothing came up.

Local law enforcement in Brownsville runs his details through their system.

Thank you so much.

It was a match for the name and the date of birth.

So it was a match.

The man will be picked up by local police.

So when are you fighting?

Saturday.

Despite facing criminal charges, the man is more worried that he may miss his

fight in two days.

I know as a boxer you do have to train every day.

He will have to be training for that fight on Saturday.

It's looking unlikely he'll be on the ticket.

He's being taken to the Brownsville precinct

where he'll finally learn more about his alleged crime.

You are going to go to the county that's looking for you that you're wanted from.

I wouldn't know when he would be seeing the judge, maybe a couple of days.

I don't know if he's going to be able to get out for that fight Saturday.

The man may have been unaware of his warrant, but since he is the wanted man,

he will now have to face his charge.

If you ever got in trouble, ever been arrested, ever had any warrants, and

you're planning to cross to the U.S., don't be surprised if you get stopped by

us.

An eagle path.

Officers have found suspected narcotics hidden in the floor of a vehicle.

Looks like it's going to be the entire floor from both sides.

The lone driver is detained while officers strip down the car to gain

access to the drugs.

And even more packages are found.

Almost

every

inch of the car's floor has been used to conceal narcotics.

But it's unclear what type.

We've got to get everything out to the seizure room so we can test it to see

what we're dealing with.

And we'll take him back.

We counted 74 packages in total.

At this point, since we don't know what it is, we're going to have to test it

and just verify what kind of drugs they are.

The load is taken to the seizure room for testing.

Delivery.

All right, moment of truth.

The laser detector can penetrate the layers of packaging and identify the

type of drug.

Methamphetamine is

a highly addictive drug.

that caused an estimated 30,000 deaths in the U.S. in 2024.

But it's one of the most profitable for cartels because it could be manufactured

cheaply from easily sourced chemical ingredients.

If I had to take a wild guess on why the narcotics come from Mexico, I would say

price.

I guess they can get the chemicals easier in Mexico.

Right.

It takes three officers two hours to examine all the drugs.

Each packet is full of crystals.

And every one tests positive for methamphetamine.

We're going to take all of the packages and the boxes to bridge two so we can

have them weighed.

The drugs are taken to the nearby Camino Real bridge to be weighed on a

commercial scale.

Every time we have to use this scale, it means we did good.

162 pounds, and if we translate that into kilograms, it's 73.48 kilos of

crystal meth.

Today's bust has taken drugs with a street value of $3.3 million out of the

hands of dealers.

We do this job because we care. We save lives whenever we catch drugs.

So whenever we take it off the streets, it gives a sense of accomplishment.

Every year, CBP officers apprehend 2.5 million people attempting to cross

illegally from Mexico to the U.S.

A lot of drug trafficking, weapon smuggling, narcotics, human smuggling.

Many are youngsters whose parents are already in America illegally.

They pay people smugglers to escort their children safely across the border,

often pretending to be a close relative.

It happens a lot. It happens more often than you would think.

Today, at the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge, three children heading to Texas with

their grandmother have been stopped after their story raised concern.

The three girls have American birth certificates, but no picture IDs.

They're traveling with their supposed grandmother, so I'm going to interview

all four of them.

We'll see what their story is, how they know each other, that they're not trying

to come in under a different name and trying to come into the country

illegally.

Officer Covarrubias is concerned the girls aren't really the woman's

grandchildren, and the birth certificates aren't there.

Anybody can claim that I'm this person, this is my birth certificate, let me in,

but at the end of the day, they have to be able to prove that that's really who

they are.

Hola, I want to start this.

It's the first time you're crossing.

You too?

You too?

Do you have permission from your mom or dad?

From my mom.

Okay. This one.

And your mom, where is she right now?

In Mexico. Can she cross?

No. She doesn't have a visa? No. Okay. You do?

I have a visa.

Yes, of course.

Where are you going?

To Texas.

To Texas.

The grandmother has a visa to visit the U.S. and says she's taking the girls to

a city in Texas to see their father.

He used to live in Mexico, but moved back to the U.S.

Okay, 15 days and a month. So, how?

You don't even know how long you're going to stay here?

No, I don't.

One says 15 days and the other says a month. So, how?

Well,

I'm going to bring you inside, okay? I'm going to interview you.

How much?

How much what?

Okay. Okay.

The Windsor-Detroit crossing is the busiest international border in North

America. Good morning, sir. How are you?

Do you have any fruits and vegetables with you today?

Sixteen million vehicles pass through every year.

Nothing for the purpose.

CBP officers are always on alert for anything suspicious being smuggled in.

Any fresh fruits and vegetables?

That includes natural items.

But some are prohibited because they carry a serious risk to American

agriculture and wildlife.

Finding any insects that can be harmful to United States agriculture is as

important as finding drugs in any shipment coming in.

Today at the Ambassador Bridge, a car returning to the U.S. from Canada has

been sent for inspection.

The driver, who's traveling with his family, declared that he has no fresh

produce. But since their car is loaded with groceries, Officer Castillo wants

to take a closer look.

We try to see if they bring in anything prohibited.

Yeah, they just said no fruits, vegetables, just rice.

All the bags need to be checked.

If any prohibited items are found, the family could be in line for a hefty

fine. All this stuff that we don't really look at.

They declared rice, so I found the rice.

This looks like it's basmati rice.

The rice is classified as a dry good, so it's allowed to be brought in.

But fresh fruits are restricted to only certain ones grown in Canada.

And, yeah, I'm seeing that they do have some mangoes.

These don't have a country of origin, but either way, mangoes from anywhere,

they're prohibited.

So some fruits and vegetables do carry diseases.

Mangoes are sort of like avocados because of the pit inside. You can

replant the pit and then you can grow more.

We don't want it in because we can't control it.

Mangoes can harbor fruit flies, which pose a significant threat to U.S.

farmers because they can destroy entire crops.

Oranges, we regulate them. They don't have a country of origin, so we're going

to be taking them again.

Pears, they say Argentina.

They didn't declare any of this stuff either.

The man's claim to not be carrying any fresh produce is already unraveling. For

transporting potentially hazardous goods, the driver could be facing a

serious fine.

At the Juarez Lincoln Bridge, a woman traveling with three girls she claims

are her granddaughters is being questioned.

The woman

has presented U.S. birth certificates for all three girls, but with no photo

ID to prove who they actually are. Officer Covarrubias.

needs to be sure she's not trafficking them.

And who are these young women? Who are they traveling with?

Why are they together?

How do they know each other?

We have all these past cases where somebody gets greedy and they want to

smuggle people in and say, hey, this is my daughter, when it's not their

daughter. And this is her birth certificate, but it's not them.

Traffickers can be paid thousands of dollars to get a single child across the

border to be reunited with family.

Officer Koforubias needs to make sure these girls are who they say they are.

To prove they are all related, he needs to see photographs

of all of the family together.

But neither the sisters nor their grandmother have any on their person or

on their phones.

Mira, de verdad, de verdad, tengo que ver un foto que ustedes están juntos.

No le hace si es de tres años, cuatro años pasado.

Tengo que saber que ustedes se conocen, que son hermanas.

¿Sí? Pues ándale.

¿Fotos con tú y tu abuela?

No.

¿No te gusta tomar fotos?

Así no.

¿Por qué no?

With the girls and their alleged grandmother unable to prove that they

are related, Officer Covarrubias.

decides to call the girl's mother to help establish the facts.

At the Canadian border, a family has been caught bringing in undeclared fresh

fruit into the U.S.

They're prohibited.

Since crossing the border with undeclared agriculture can have a

devastating impact on U.S. crops.

They didn't declare any of this stuff.

The family could be in line for a penalty.

You had some, like, fresh fruits and vegetables in your vehicle.

You had some mangoes, some oranges. You had quite a few fruits.

We technically asked both of you if you had any fresh fruits and vegetables.

And because you said you didn't have any, and we found some.

But you do have fruit.

The fruit that you do have, some of them are prohibited. When you fail to declare

it, we're going to have to give you a penalty of $300.

How much?

$300.

I did ask both of you guys, and you both said no.

Well,

you did have food.

We're going to be actually done arguing. You did cross an international border,

okay? Everything in that car belongs to you. You're supposed to know what's

inside. The officers did ask if you had it.

Both of you, not once but twice, said no, okay? Now, we found the stuff.

So now a civil penalty is going to be issued.

Do you have enough to cover the $300 today?

Okay, yeah, I'm getting paid.

Just, yeah, I'm going to do some paperwork. I'll come back for you.

We did specifically ask them what they had.

The couple is issued a $300 penalty.

Although this family has never been caught with undeclared produce before,

next time they're unlikely to make this mistake.

You're coming from one country to the other. I would think you would know what

you pack.

The driver pays the fine, and the family will be allowed to enter the U.S., but

it's been a costly lesson.

They're all usually pretty upset about paying $300 for some mangoes and

oranges, but, I mean, at the end of the day, he did make a mistake. He did have

to pay for it.

At the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge, officers suspect... Three minors could be in the

process of being trafficked into the U.S.

Unable to prove the girls are related and that this is their grandmother,

Officer Covarrubias has decided to call the girl's mother.

The woman confirms all three are her children, traveling with their

grandmother.

Okay.

If she doesn't find and send a photo of all four, they'll be sent back to

Mexico.

You have to send it to your mom's cell phone, please.

Okay, bye.

This is pretty much your last chance, guys. I mean...

Finally,

a photo was sent through.

which shows them all together.

Okay guys, that's all.

Let's go.

Satisfied they are related, the family is free to travel into Texas.

They were admitted as US citizens.

Really, really comfortable once we got the photographic evidence.

Just seemed a little odd at the beginning where none of them have photos

of each other.

It's very strange, but we see strange things here.

In the

Mexican border town of Nuevo Progreso, there are over 100 pharmacies in one

square mile.

With prices up to 70% cheaper than in the U.S.,

It's become a magnet for medical tourism.

But there are strict controls on how much can be brought back to the U

.S.

And officers are highly trained to spot any irregularities.

We handle hundreds of bottles of medication every day. So every time we

feel it, if it's different, then we know that there's something wrong with it.

This afternoon, Officer Theriot has stopped a female traveler.

She suspects the woman is smuggling pain medication.

This lady had a bottle of Tramadol, and it just felt a little heavy, and when I

opened it, I noticed that the pills were halfway up the bottle instead of

typically about a quarter of the way up.

I'm just thinking it was double-stuffed.

Anything in your pockets today? Your phone, everything right up here with me?

Double stuffing, or concealing extra pills in one bottle, is a well-known

trick to get illicit drugs across the border.

The

medication

is tramadol, a controlled substance in the U.S. due to its addictive nature.

You got two bottles in here, right?

Who said that you could do that?

But the pharmacist doesn't work over here, do they?

Travelers can only bring in 50 pills at one time without a prescription.

The woman has over 100, since she didn't declare them.

She could be facing a heavy penalty or even jail time.

But my niece had that, and they pulled me in.

And you didn't learn from that? You didn't learn from that? No, I haven't.

Let me talk to my supervisor and see what he wants to do.

Somebody's been told the laws before.

They've had the seizures with us before. We've taken payment for a penalty for

them before. They already know what the regulation is. They already know what

the laws are, and she's still trying to circumvent them.

To help determine her punishment, Officer Pena wants to find out more

about the woman's intentions.

Have you ever smuggled medicine before?

Yes, two years ago, but it was released.

You were the one that was charged with it? Yes, I was with it.

Okay, you don't learn your lesson now.

They only give you one chance.

We might go to jail today.

At the southern border, wait times to cross into the U.S. can be long.

Do you have a pass card?

But a small percentage of travelers can enter more quickly if they are FastPass

holders. This allows them to use the sentry lane, where lines are

significantly reduced.

They can use that dedicated lane. They can cross to Mexico and come back in a

matter of minutes.

Versus the regular traffic, which can sometimes be like three or four hours

long. But qualifying for this status is a difficult process.

And only those who have gone through rigorous checks are granted access.

This morning, a car entering from Mexico using the sentry lane has been sent for

inspection.

You're going to park it over there in the first one to your right, okay?

Checks reveal the vehicle hasn't been registered to the driver's FastPass

card.

He says he's borrowing his dad's car.

while his own is being repaired.

My dad has sent me on his other vehicle, and I was reading online that you can

add a vehicle.

So I added the vehicle today.

Yeah, but you still have to wait until you get it approved.

It's not just about adding it, but it's for you to add it, and then have to wait

until they approve it. You can't cross that vehicle until you get it approved

in the system first.

If he's found with anything illegal in his car, he'll risk losing both his and

his father's sentry pass.

Okay, so we have a little package here.

And it's got what seems to be a joint

or a blunt.

We would have to test it to see if it'll test positive for something.

Marijuana. More than likely.

Even if it's small, it's still not legal to bring into the country.

Marijuana is illegal in Texas, and crossing the U.S. border with any amount

is forbidden.

After putting it in the testing kit, it did test positive for cannabis.

Unfortunately, it's...

Not enough to do a seizure or a penalty. It was just Jordan testing.

His center part, he's supposed to be a trusted traveler, so he's supposed to

not have anything that's prohibited.

He's held at a higher standard, in other words.

The young man is let off with a warning, but both he and his father's fast pass

will be revoked.

This particular vehicle doesn't belong to him.

So the owner would be deactivated, because now they're lending it to

somebody else who was found with narcotics.

We will lift up his sentry card, and he will no longer be able to travel as a

trusted traveler.

It could take years before their cards are reinstated.

I think his dad's going to be very, once he finds that out, that his sentry card

was revoked.

Imprograto.

You got two bottles in here, right?

The 61-year-old woman could be facing jail time after being caught smuggling

excessive amounts of pain medication.

I'm going to handcuff you for officer safety, okay?

Two years ago, she was fined for the same offense.

It was my niece. You were the one that was charged with it.

What are you using it for?

My leg was torn off.

Why didn't you get it in the U.S.? Because I don't have insurance.

Well, you can bring it in, but there's only a certain amount.

They only give you one chance.

Last time we did find you, remember?

A call is made to the state prosecutor who confirmed that they will be pressing

charges.

A local law enforcement officer arrives to take the woman into custody.

I'm going to get fired from my job.

If you go to jail, they fire you.

And I've been working there for seven years.

Unfortunately, the subject is very upset, obviously because of the

situation.

The woman is handcuffed and led away.

She'll be taken to the local Hidalgo precinct.

We can't be lenient just because she's having a harder time with this than

other people might be.

You broke the law, you broke the law, and you already knew what the

consequences could be.

It would now be up to state prosecutors to determine her sentence.