Original subtitles

Hi, how's it going?

¿Cómo andamos?

Every day, unofficial couriers called acateros carry goods across the southern

border. They can earn anywhere from $1,500 to $100,000 in a single day.

But with a big paycheck comes a major risk, because they rarely know what

they're transporting.

In Eagle Park... Yeah, we'll just stick it up here, man.

Officers are carrying out a spot check on a courier's truck heading from the U

.S. into Mexico.

It's really weird, dude.

Oh, is it?

Because criminal gangs are known to hide money and guns in the cargo,

officers conduct an X-ray.

We tried to get everything because we never know.

They might have something hiding in one of the boxes.

Prevo!

The X-ray has revealed something of interest.

Yeah, we got one.

So right now, we're scanning the commodities from this guy's truck, and

there appears to be a rifle in the speaker box right here.

No, no, it's a...

Tens of thousands of assault rifles are trafficked from the U.S. each year by

Mexican drug cartel.

There's going to be other stuff in here, Matt.

The search is just getting started.

Okay.

Let's take the last one.

What is this, dude?

We always have to stay vigilant.

The bad guys lost today.

Over 3,000 pedestrians use the Progresso International Bridge every day.

Customs and Border Protection officers are on constant alert for one of the

criminals attempting to cross the border.

Today, a man traveling to Mercedes, Texas, has been flagged as having an

active arrest warrant.

He's immediately detained.

We can go with the handcuffs. Okay.

Left.

Officers don't yet have any details of the man's alleged crime.

Have you been arrested before?

Yeah, I always get flagged because I'm on bail.

But they never done did.

But I do have one.

That's what I'm looking for.

Okay.

Despite his claims of ignorance, it's soon confirmed the man's prints are a

match.

Public records reveal that he is wanted for stalking and harassment.

You have a warrant for offense, stalking, felony warrant, harassment,

communication.

What's that?

I don't know. Maybe you were contacting somebody you're not supposed to contact.

Do you know anything about that? Do you have a protection order or anything like

that? No. Well, that's what it's for.

Can you get more information on that?

It's what it is. I don't have any more information, okay? So just relax.

There's a restroom right there. Let me know if you need anything, okay?

Thank you.

Although the man claims to know nothing about any recent crime, Officer Pena

isn't so sure.

I believe he has probably been contacting somebody that has a

protection order against him or somebody that doesn't want to be contacted by

him. Since the man's already on bail for a separate offense, if the charges are

confirmed by the issuing precinct, he could soon be going back to jail.

An eagle path.

Yeah, we got one.

An x-ray of a courier's truck has revealed what looks like a weapon hidden

inside a speaker cabinet.

Let's take the last one.

What is this, dude?

This guy's got one, too.

Hook him up, man.

This pocket tarot.

who might be unknowingly transporting illegal goods, is detained with his wife

and son.

Every year, around 150,000 American-made

guns are smuggled from the U.S. into Mexico, where they can sell for up to

four times more on the Mexican black market.

But this driver claims he had no idea what he was carrying or who it was for.

With the man in custody, officers check the speaker cabinet.

We're going to open it to see what they have.

And based on the images that we got, it seems like there's some weapons in

there.

The search reveals suspicious objects covered in tape in both speakers.

There is what appears to be a weapon that is wrapped in duct tape. It's

concealed within the commodity, but it's not secured, so it's bouncing around. So

if we physically picked it up, we'd probably feel something moving around.

So in terms of this, it's not a very good concealment method.

And this is the same thing. It's wrapped with duct tape and is thrown in the

speaker box.

The second

package

contains ammunition.

This is two fully loaded 30-round magazines of 760s.

which is used for an AK-47.

760 by 30 now.

In progresso, officers have detained a man.

who was wanted in Texas for stalking and harassment.

But do you have a warrant?

That's what I'm looking for.

Over 13 million people are stalked in the U.S. every year, most of them women.

The man claims he knows nothing about his warrant.

But Officer Pena isn't convinced.

You don't remember anything? No. You didn't get into an argument with

somebody? Yeah, my wife just separated from me. I caught my wife cheating.

Okay. And, like, she moved out, and I kicked her out.

You never, like, hit her? No.

Have you been calling her nonstop or anything like that?

Mm-hmm.

The man admits calling his ex-wife, but claims he's the victim, not her.

He's stating that it could be a retaliation from his wife since she does

have a new boyfriend and everything.

But I think it could be a little bit more than that, that he's not telling

us.

Officer Pena calls state police to get more details about the warrant.

Thank you. Okay, perfect. Thank you. Have a good day.

They confirm that the man's wife has filed a complaint that he's been

aggressively stalking her for the past six weeks.

Mercedes police arrive to take the man into custody.

Stalking is classified as a pattern of repeated and unwanted harassment.

Stalking, how, where?

That's crazy.

After what I told you. Just go through the motion, sir. You just have to do it

and see what happens, okay? Try to calm down. Try to relax.

There's no point in getting upset, okay?

Okay.

The man is taken to county jail and will appear before a state judge in the

morning. If the stalking and harassment offenses are proven, he could be

returning to prison for up to five years.

In Eagle Pack, a rifle and ammunition have been found hidden in speaker

boxes driven by a pocket arrow.

This is two fully loaded 30-round magazines, a 760, which is used for an

AK-47.

760 by 39.

The smugglers have made an extra effort to conceal the assault weapon itself.

So as I'm opening this duct tape, there's a slimy texture.

I'm not quite sure yet what it is, but it's going to be something that's used

to conceal the odor to the canine.

It didn't work.

As suspected, the gun is an AK-47 assault rifle.

In the wrong hand, this is a bad tool.

Let's make sure that it's not loaded.

AK-47s are the weapon of choice for Mexican drug cartels, who use them to

facilitate their deadly trade, resulting in hundreds of murders every year.

It's a 16-inch barrel with a buttstock, which is considered to be a short

-barreled rifle, a high-power rifle that's confusable.

With the firearm and ammo seized, The rest of the driver's family is allowed

to continue their journey.

Meanwhile, the driver will be handed over to a Homeland Security

investigations agent for further questioning.

He will be the one who decides if the subject is released or going to be

prosecuted for the weapon smuggling.

If it's determined the driver knew more about his cargo than he's letting on, he

could be looking at 20 years in jail.

Any weapon that we take up the streets is a good weapon. The weapon that we

found today is an extremely dangerous weapon.

50,000 vehicles a day cross the Detroit River, which separates the United States

and Canada.

Officers must check each one.

Good afternoon, citizenship?

All right, why were you in Canada, sir? You didn't try to talk him out of it?

Part of this job is just being able to think on the fly and being able to

adapt.

Everything is always changing. You never know what you're going to get. Every

person that comes to this port, it's a mystery until you can kind of figure it

out, you know. So you kind of just got to prep yourself. I mean, I think every

officer here knows what they signed up for, and you just got to be able to

adjust and apply like that when you need to.

This morning, officers have detained a van at secondary inspection.

The driver claims he took a wrong turn after picking up his ex-wife at a

Detroit bus station.

and accidentally ended up at the border.

I've come to pick her up in the bus station.

That's my ex-wife.

She's coming up here to see her grandchildren.

They didn't intend to come here, but once they enter onto our property, they

are now on federal property and all federal rules apply to them.

Put your hands on the wall over here.

A search has revealed the man is carrying a handgun and ammunition.

which is illegal to transport over the border without the correct paperwork.

It could be punishable by a five-year prison sentence.

That's one of my good shoes. Yeah, see these.

Concerned there may be other prohibited items, officers begin a check of his

vehicle.

Sometimes you see vents that are partially pried.

This one's been either pried open previously.

But the rivets, you can tell, have been definitely broken. So we're going to

take a look and make sure there's nothing else in there.

The vents are empty.

But the search is far from over.

People try to disguise things they know they're not supposed to have or they

think they're not supposed to have.

It's just a standard part of human nature.

We'll take a quick look, make sure the stitching looks good.

Center console.

Marijuana rolling papers.

Well, that's a pistol magazine.

Think sour.

And marijuana.

Tubes that say that it is infused with THC or marijuana.

And then marijuana labeled little packages.

Although legal in both Michigan and Canada, possessing any type of cannabis

product at a federal border could mean a fine of up to $25,000.

Marijuana still is considered a Schedule I narcotic federally, which means it

cannot be on this property. It is a zero tolerance policy.

The gun, ammo, and marijuana.

are a trifecta of trouble for the driver.

In San Diego.

Any fruits, plants, seeds, vegetables?

No, that's fine.

It's the job of Customs and Border Protection to stop endangered wildlife

or products from being smuggled into the U.S.

Today, agriculture specialist Ortega Fuentes is checking a driver who is

returning from a fishing trip.

They said they're coming from Mexico, and they're heading to California.

They declare me a yellowtail.

and some fish that they fish on the shore of the beach.

How much fish are you bringing, sir?

20 or 30 fish.

How many kilos or pounds?

A lot?

I didn't weigh that.

Okay, no worries. Can we place it on the floor?

Are you using me as the goal here?

No, sir.

I'm doing my inspection.

Okay.

Can you step over the table, please?

The man doesn't seem happy about his fish being inspected.

My time is very important. I didn't break the law.

I have crossed this border over a thousand times since 1965.

But, you know, as a U.S. citizen, I feel like a criminal coming back into my own

country.

But there's good reason for officers to take an interest in the containers.

We're going to see what they have here.

There's more than 25 kilos.

Then they assume it's a commercial quantity, and they can return them for

that.

An estimated $2.4 billion worth of illegal seafood is smuggled into the U

.S. every year.

Agriculture specialist Ortega Fuentes wants to confirm the man isn't smuggling

any protected or endangered species.

So they have the Dewey dogs.

They are allowed to bring at least, I believe, eight pieces per passenger.

I don't know if these are still alive or not.

Large saltwater clans called Dewey dogs.

are found in the waters off Baja, California, and are a valuable delicacy.

Although undeclared, the

clams aren't a protected species.

But another discovery is a major red flag.

Is this fish bladder?

Came from the yellow tail.

There's nothing illegal about it. Okay.

The team must check the bladder isn't from a protected species, such as the

totoaba fish.

These are highly prized in Eastern medicine and bring in thousands of

dollars on the black market.

I'm going to contact NOAA and let them see this. Maybe I can take some pictures

for them.

If the find is confirmed a protected species by the National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Agency, the fishermen could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250

,000 fine.

Every weekend.

20,000 U.S. citizens crossed the border from Progreso, Texas, into Mexico.

Many head there to party, meaning officers frequently have to deal with

travelers who are excessively intoxicated.

For the most part, I would say 80% of the time, we get great people. We get

great travelers. They're usually pretty nice. They're pretty compliant. And, you

know, it's just another day for us, obviously.

That's not always going to be, you know, the happy story every single day. Every

once in a while we do get our situations here and there, and we have to treat it

accordingly.

The bone's sticking out.

This evening, an American who spent the day drinking across the border has

arrived in a Mexican ambulance.

He was fighting in Mexico apparently and he fell and he landed really bad.

So he's trying to go home and our EMT is telling him that he needs to go

to a hospital.

We contact the U.S. ambulance to come over here, pick up the subject, and then

this ambulance would just return to Mexico.

The emergency medical technicians have determined the man has broken his leg.

and are taking him for further evaluation.

That's very common. We get people with blood on their head, puncture wounds,

a little bit of everything.

Or people who just, they're too drunk to walk. We get that a lot too.

He seems to not be in pain. I think the pain will hit once the alcohol wears

off.

Meanwhile, over at Pedestrian Inspections, another man heading home

after an afternoon of partying has arrived with a friend.

Hello.

By law.

It's the traveler's responsibility to declare any baggage they are personally

carrying. What's in the bag?

Well,

you brought it, so you got to... Okay,

you had it.

You had it, so what's in the bags?

All right,

just put them here.

You put it there, so you're responsible for it.

I'm not too responsible for it.

Go ahead and put the bags here. If there's anything in that bag that's not

supposed to be there, you're the one that brought him here, so you're

responsible. I'm not putting it there.

The man's refusal to comply with Officer Rodriguez is a red flag and

begs the question of what's in the bag.

The man is detained for a secondary inspection.

Put the bag there.

Do you have any weapons on you? No, sir. All right.

Well,

right now I'm going to go search through the bags, see if there's anything that

maybe he didn't want to show me, and that's why he left them on the floor.

The bags reveal a variety of household cleaning and beauty products.

Since drugs like methamphetamine can be smuggled in liquid form, Officer

Gonzalez must check each container.

This looks like it's some sort of hair gel or skin gel.

I'm just opening the stuff and leaving them open to see if there's any

crystallization.

If it's anything that's not supposed to be in there, it should crystallize if

it's bad. If it's not bad, it will stay, retain its normal form.

If officers find that the bags contain narcotics, this traveler could be facing

decades in prison.

In Detroit.

You guys are all set? You have a good day? A driver giving his ex-wife a ride

to visit her grandkid.

They've stopped after taking a wrong turn towards the Canadian border.

Put your hands on the wall again.

Officers have uncovered a handgun with ammo.

That's one of my good shoes. Yeah, see these.

And suspected cannabis products illegal at the international border.

A chemical test will confirm if the recovered products contain THC, the

psychoactive ingredient of cannabis.

Possession of THC products is federally illegal.

It could result in a fine or even jail time.

So we're making sure all the substrate is at the bottom so it's easy. We're

going to break these glass capsules inside.

It is either purple or purple and white. It is an alert for a positive reaction

for the narcotic spread.

You can see it definitely is a positive alert.

The man doesn't deny being a regular cannabis user.

I'm a dialysis patient.

Okay. And I got to sit in a chair for four hours.

Yeah. And you can't get up. It's a long time. You can't roll over on your side.

Those things that you got there that I forgot that were in there, that's the

only thing that helps the pain.

It helps me in order I can do the four hours sitting in that chair.

So you use THC to, well, you prescribe it or is it just?

It helps.

You just kind of buy it and use it?

I go to the dispensary, go in and buy the dispensary, and that's it.

Although the man has a legitimate medical reason for having marijuana

products, It has no bearing at the border.

So do you kind of understand what's going on, though?

Yeah. That federal property, it's still a Schedule I narcotic, so no medical.

Right. So we are seizing it today.

Since they're prohibited on federal property, all the man's cannabis

products are seized, along with his gun.

You're going to have to petition for it. You may or may not get that. Yeah, well,

that's all right. If I get it back, I hope so.

It seems the driver made an honest mistake, so has spared any further

penalty.

And he and his passenger are free to go.

Having a hell of a day time.

I'm having fun.

Believe me, it's probably not the worst way it could have ended up.

All right, you're good. I'll walk you out.

Well, it's been real, folks.

Yeah. Yeah,

I'll be safe.

Maybe I can start my vacation now.

Remember, see how this is? This is how come my door won't open.

Hopefully they have a good time with their kid and have a good rest of their

education and are a little bit smarter about where they're turning here in

Detroit.

In San Diego... It came from the yellow tail.

There's nothing illegal about it. Okay.

Agriculture specialist Ortega Fuentes is concerned a man may be smuggling rare

fish bladders worth up to $80,000 apiece on the black market.

As a U.S. citizen, I feel like a criminal coming back into my own

country. My only concern is with something that I found that we suspect

is a fish bladder.

The illegal trade of endangered species is estimated to be worth up to $10

billion a year.

A call to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration should

confirm if these bladders are from the protected toduaba fish.

I don't know. I'm not sure.

That's why I'm calling you.

If confirmed positive, the man could face a $25,000 fine and up to two

decades in prison.

I didn't break the law.

This is the first time I've been put through this.

I have a house in Baja. I come twice a month.

Okay. Okay. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Bye.

She's good with it.

They can keep it.

It's good news for the man.

His claim that the bladders come from the yellowtail fish checks out, and

there will be no action taken for the undeclared clan.

Okay. Thank you. Okay. She took it out of here. No, that's all.

Be careful with it, okay?

I'm very happy. That's all I can say. Okay. Can you help me put everything

back in the trunk?

Your name is Ortega Fuentes?

Yes, sir. Thank you.

The man may be upset, but these types of inspections are crucial to protecting

endangered species and stopping the black market trade.

What an experience.

Yes, sir. Thank you so much.

I think it was a good inspection.

Yeah, I'm looking out for my country, for the agriculture, for all the

vegetation, the animals, everything.

We're doing our part.

At the Juarez Lincoln Bridge in Laredo.

How many people today?

Three. Three people. Does the window go down in the back? Right.

Following a recent smuggling trend, officers are carrying out a special

operation.

targeting lone travelers.

Follow this officer right here.

One vehicle has been sent to secondary inspection after the driver appeared

nervous.

He was too talkative.

He started shaking and moving around a lot.

It just didn't fit. It didn't seem right.

Officers carry out a thorough search of the vehicle.

Hey, what's up? Seven or what? Yeah, I'm just going to need the...

Everything's... I just need the hood. If you can help me with that. Okay.

So all this... See, so all this is dirty. I mean, nothing

here has been touched.

Let me get it.

649 Delta.

This right here.

This is way more cleaner than the rest.

Clean areas can suggest the vehicle has been recently altered to hide something.

You see that area over there?

It's dirty.

The whole truck is full of dirt.

Except that area right there. 093 Delta.

Suspecting there could be a secret compartment behind the dashboard.

The team wants to take a closer look.

It's been taped shut before.

Oh, look at that.

There it is.

In progresso.

All right, just put him here.

It's on my end.

You put it there, so you're responsible for it.

I'm not too rich, so I'll lose for it.

A man has been detained after refusing to declare the bags he was carrying,

claiming they belonged to his friend.

But he was trying to say she was the one responsible for the bags. But to me,

he's the one carrying the bags, so he was the one responsible for them.

The man seems to be drunk.

And although the bags appear to contain just cleaning products, officers want to

be sure the couple isn't trying to distract them.

We have a lot of people who do come in, they do come in inebriated and do come

in, you know, in not their full senses.

And we've seen where people take advantage of that to hinder the

inspection or to try to get the officer to not pay attention to exactly what

he's doing.

Smugglers commonly hide methamphetamine inside everyday cleaning products.

So Officer Gonzalez checks the containers.

He still insists the bags aren't his.

The officer asked me to put them on the counter. I said, I'm not cleaning that.

I'm not cleaning it.

Anything in the bags good?

It was negative. I opened the containers. There was nothing

crystallized, nothing turned bad.

It was nonsense.

He's cleaning up.

Yeah.

With nothing suspicious found in the bags,

This time, the man will face no further action.

Still

defiant,

the man is free to head home, leaving his friend to carry the bag.

I don't know anyone who travels with bags that are not theirs.

And even if you're helping them out, at this point, when you come in, you're

supposed to declare everything you have with you.

In Laredo. Look at that. It's been taped shut before.

Oh, look at that.

Officers have found a secret compartment behind the dashboard of an SUV.

There it is.

It looks like steroids.

Yeah.

Steroids. That's how strong.

It's a control stop there.

An estimated 3 to 4 million U.S. citizens use steroids.

But since they are a controlled substance, they must be purchased with a

prescription.

While the driver is detained for questioning, officers begin the

extraction.

It looks like steroids. This one has been a lot.

These steroids are artificial testosterone.

used to boost muscle mass.

Since their misuse can cause heart attacks or strokes, they're heavily

regulated, meaning a black market has emerged.

Other prohibited meds are also found.

These are diet pills that are not allowed to come in. They're not FDA

approved.

That's why it's...

It's so important to get it stopped here because we don't know what they're

mixing or what they're saying it is.

If convicted, the man could be facing up to five years in jail.

Some of these things are dangerous.

There are some of these things that can cause permanent liver damage, kidney

damage, kidney failure.

Today's haul of over 1,500 illegal steroids and diet pills has a street

value of at least $50,000.

Somebody might actually get hurt or even, like, die from this.

So, I mean, I feel pretty good taking that off the street.

It's a good day.

The steroid industry is worth billions of dollars, but their misuse is rising

among young men and women.

These drugs will be tested, and the driver handed over to Homeland Security

Investigations.