Original subtitles

The Camino Real International Bridge in Eagle Pass, Texas.

It's the night shift.

As the never-ending stream of travelers enter from Mexico, officers stay alert

to signs of illegal activity.

A man who is traveling

with his family is pulled aside.

Sweating and unsteady.

The officers suspect he may be high on drugs.

A canine unit is deployed.

Sir,

we're going to start an inspection. Go ahead and stand up for us.

Stand right over here.

If the canine detects an illicit substance, it will signal to the handler

by sitting.

I was running my inspection and the canine went to his person and sat, so

that's obviously an indication that there's something on him. Now they're

conducting a pat-down to see what he has on him.

The Progreso International Bridge links southern Texas with the Mexican border

town of Nuevo Progreso.

where a cluster of pharmacies sells medicine, up to 80% cheaper than in the

U.S.

But there are strict controls on what meds can be brought back into the U.S.

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.

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.

Officer

Ortega

questions the man about his motive.

Although commonly associated with cosmetic procedures, the medication can

also be used to treat migraines.

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 pharmacists, 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 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. So it's smuggling.

At the Camino Real bridge,

A canine has alerted that a U.S. citizen crossing from Mexico with his family may

be carrying drugs.

Officers conduct a pat-down to see what he has.

I asked him if he had any drugs on him. He actually confessed and said yes.

He had a smoke pipe with him, and he had these drugs hidden within the socks.

The man has a large rock of what he says is methamphetamine.

The subject seemed like he was actually high on some type of drugs for sure.

The man admits to smuggling meth.

He says he traveled to Mexico because he didn't have enough money.

and it's much cheaper to buy over there.

Like nearly a million other people in the U

.S., the man is addicted to meth.

He will be detained until officers determine his punishment.

In Progresso...

Officers

are investigating a barber caught attempting to smuggle controlled

medication in a cookie box.

The suspect says the muscle relaxant is for personal use.

Nobody else told you to come get it?

It's because the ones out here, man, they're a lot cheaper.

But he has still committed a criminal offense.

Is it the amount of? Is it what I'm actually bringing back?

For one, you didn't tell us, and two, you were hiding it, man.

So it's smuggling because you have it in that box, right?

I'm just going to say, now I know not to do this again, you know what I'm saying?

I'm not going to do it again. I'm not going to do it again.

A single vial can sell for several hundred dollars in the U.S.

So Officer Ortega wants to be sure the man isn't planning to sell it on the

black market, which would warrant more serious charges.

Officers have the right to search any electronic devices as part of the

inspection process.

You have to give me the code right now. It's unlocked.

No, I don't have the code.

Look, look, look.

I'm telling you the only excuse, man.

I'll cooperate with you, man.

I just don't know what you're going to find on my phone.

Like, what you're going to look through there for, you know what I mean? Just to

make sure there's no messages between you and anybody else telling you, hey,

buy me this, bring me that, whatever.

All right, you're telling me it's for you.

There's nothing on here that says it's for anybody else.

Oh, I mean, if I'm making a transaction with somebody else, something like that?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, bro, yeah, 100%. Go for it.

A search of the man's phone reveals no evidence that he is selling the meds.

This time, prosecutors settle on a fine.

With the interview over and the fine paid,

the man has questions of his own.

Apparently he's a barber and asking if we had a barber on site.

Guess he wanted to make some cash on the site.

He was pretty upbeat considering he just paid $500.

In addition to the fine, the man will be prevented from crossing the border for

the next 30 days.

Oh, bro, I just had a little scare, bro. I'm not coming back for a while. You

good?

Uh, yeah.

Hey, be safe, bro.

You're going to have to go through a couple of haircuts if you make up those

$500.

At the Camino Real bridge, a traveler has been caught trying to smuggle drugs

over the border in his sock.

The man confesses the drug is meth.

We're going to go ahead and test the little package that we found to see what

type of drug it actually comes back to.

But to be sure, the package is taken to the lab to be tested.

I see some little rocks there.

That thing is more rock than powder, right? Yeah, towards the bottom.

If the substance is met, It will trigger a chemical reaction in the narco pouch.

It should be kind of like a bluish color.

There you go.

And we have a positive use for methamphetamine.

The next step from here, we're going to actually wait.

Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant and Schedule II narcotic.

4.21 grams.

Smuggling even a small quantity across the border is a felony offense.

We just got information that Mary County Sheriff's Office is going to go ahead

and take the case.

As law enforcement arrives to take him into custody, the man struggles to

stand.

Long-term meth addicts can experience side effects such as confusion,

decreased cognitive and muscular function, and psychosis.

Every year, methamphetamine is responsible for over 20,000 deaths in

the U.S.

They're going to take charges on the subjects for the 4.21 grams of

methamphetamine. I guess today was the day to be caught.

The man will spend the rest of the night in jail before appearing in front of a

judge in the morning.

If he's later found guilty, he could be facing a penalty of more than two years

in prison and a $10,000 fine.

The Ambassador Bridge in Detroit.

links the U.S. state of Michigan to Ontario, Canada.

With tens of thousands of Canadians thought to be living and working

illegally in the U.S., officers here are always looking for those breaking the

rule.

How long are you going to be over on this trip?

Have a good day, ma'am.

Our biggest stuff is immigration-based.

Canadians working illegally, coming over, trying to do stuff they're not

supposed to do, staying too long, overstaying the time frame.

Have a good day, sir.

I can bring you a little contention between the travel and public and us.

When people start getting familiar with your requirements and stuff, they come

over and they say, oh, I'm just going to hang out with my buddy for a couple

days.

It doesn't look like you're hanging out for a couple days, but you go on the

side. We're going to figure this out.

This morning, a Canadian man has been brought in for questioning after

officers noticed he's been making repeated month-long visits to the U.S.

The officer presented him with the question of, are you working or have you

worked in the United States on either one of your trips, or are you going to

do that today? And he said no.

Officer Howe suspects the man has been working illegally, but must gather

evidence to prove it.

So where are you trying to go today?

To Texas.

When's the last time you crossed?

The beginning of last month.

Okay. And how long were you in the U.S.? For almost 30 days.

Okay, where'd you go?

Texas, my uncle's place.

What's going on there?

Yeah, so I can't stay home in the country by myself, so I go to work with

him because he owns a car transporting business, and I just chill there.

Canadians are allowed to stay in the U.S. for up to 30 days, provided they

don't work.

But the man's admission that he spends every day at his uncle's business is

highly suspicious.

Take me through just a typical day while you're down there.

We go to his office around like 8 a.m. We get there. I'm on my phone a lot,

watching TikTok, Instagram, sit on the laptop, watch some YouTube. Whose

laptop? His laptop.

Okay. And this is at the business?

Yeah. Okay. And then watch some YouTube.

That's it?

That's a boring 30 days.

Despite the man saying he spends his days on social media, officers have

found evidence on his phone which suggests there's more to his visits than

he claims.

This is your phone, right? Yeah. Anybody else use this phone? No. You gave us

authorization to search your electronic devices. You were asked specifically if

you had work or if you're working in the U.S. now.

Yeah. And you said no.

Yeah. Is that the truth?

I guess.

Then why is there a video of you working at your uncle's transport business?

At the Juarez Lincoln Bridge in Laredo.

Officers carry out ID checks on everyone entering America.

So we encounter a lot here, and it is one of the biggest bridges.

So all 15 lanes are usually open.

We never know what to expect. So that's what's...

Very challenging here.

Write it down, please.

Your birth, last name, and date of birth.

Anyone who's wanted by the law will be immediately detained.

This afternoon, a man driving a pickup full of household goods is flagged as

having a warrant for his arrest.

He claims it's a case of mistaken identity.

So right now, what we're going to do is verify some stuff. A lot of times,

people say, oh, no, it's not me.

No, no, I know, I know. I really know. I can't think of it.

Okay. Have you ever been fingerprinted here before? Not here, but I've been put

through fingerprints and all that stuff.

Officers begin their investigation.

The man claims he was traveling to Monterey to visit his new wife's family.

But he turned back from the Mexican border after refusing to pay duties on

the goods he was carrying.

If the suspect is a wanted individual, fingerprinting will confirm it.

The man seems unfazed by the situation.

But officers are suspicious that his manner could be a smokescreen.

Until they know more about the crime he's alleged to have committed, they

won't be taking any chances.

Right now, he's friendly, jokey.

Didn't seem to care, like he didn't have anything to worry about.

When we get those kind of guys, I don't really engage.

We get a lot of people like that, and then we run their fingerprints, and they

do have a warrant.

You never know.

In Detroit, officers have stopped a Canadian man who they suspect

has been visiting the U.S. to work illegally at his uncle's business.

I can't stay home in the country by myself, so I go to work with him. He

owns a car transporting business, and I just chill there.

Then why is there a video of you working at your uncle's transport business?

I want you to watch the video.

You're making the bread. What does that mean?

If Officer Howell discovers the man has been working fraudulently, he

could be barred from the U.S. for life.

So you recorded yourself working. I'm looking at what's on the computer, and

it looks like there's invoices, there's folders. What is all this stuff?

What is all that information used for?

It's for the car transporting.

So the customer buys cars, and they put them into there, and then that's like

the invoice, I think. What part of that did you do?

They were just teaching me like simple stuff. Who did they?

My uncle. He was just showing me how to open a business, how to run a business.

What other things have you done at your uncle's business?

Take pictures.

Of? Of, like, certain cars that come in. Okay. What else?

So if the phone rings at the business, I'll just answer it. How do you answer

the phone?

Honestly, I'm not a good job. I just say hi. Pick up the phone right there and

show me what you would do.

Hello, how can I help you?

You know? That's it? No business thing? No, just how can I help you? You know,

I'm not there yet. He was teaching me how to ride a forklift.

For what?

That's how they receive cars.

So other than getting coffee, making silly videos, Learning how to drive a

forklift, answering some phones, that's it?

I need you to be honest with me about every single thing that you did. The

thing is, I am being honest, it's just the amount of work that he would give me

is really minimal.

I help him out here and there, but he doesn't pay me.

Even though the man claims not to have been paid, the work he has done could

violate immigration law.

He is sent away while the case is reviewed.

As officers further search his phone.

Yeah, I mean, he's definitely working, right?

He's doing administrative.

work for the most part, from what I can understand.

But he also explained that his uncle is trying to show him the business side. So

it's likely there's more involved with bookkeeping, and that's pretty typical.

He's just trying to bring him into the fold and get his feet wet in the

business world. I think he has a misperception or doesn't understand or

interpret work as we define it in the immigration law. What he was doing is

displacing a U.S. worker, and there's got to be a penalty for that.

Have a seat on the same bench again, please.

Everything you described is work. And even if you thought, but I'm not getting

paid. That's what I thought.

Right. But work is work.

You're displacing a U.S. worker or resident.

So there's repercussions, right?

You are going to be expeditiously removed and returned to Canada today,

and you'll receive a five-year bar.

Faced with the reality of the situation, he raises the possibility of an appeal.

In court, so to fight it?

You can't. No.

I'm the judge, the jury, and executioner on this one.

This case is closed.

I hope that he understands in the future, if he chooses to come back to

the United States, that if you want to work here, you have to have

authorization to do so. There's a correct way to do it, and there's an

incorrect way to do it.

In Laredo, officers have detained a man returning to the U.S. who has been

flagged as having a warrant for his arrest.

The man denies he's wanted, but

officers aren't swayed by his jovial demeanor.

The man's prints are a positive match.

Public records show he's wanted over a traffic offense, for which he skipped a

court hearing.

Basically, he has a failure to appear out of Lawrence County, which is in

Pennsylvania.

Lawrence County is over 1,600 miles away.

It's up to Pennsylvania police whether they want to proceed with an arrest.

No extradition, meaning that they're not going to come all the way from

Pennsylvania to pick him up.

Fortunately for the suspect, since his crime isn't serious enough to justify

extradition back to Pennsylvania, he will be released.

So right now, I'm going to give him back his belongings and he's going to be good

to go.

All right, sir.

Put your hands behind your back.

We're going to escort you outside, okay?

Mm-hmm.

You did have a warrant, a failure to appear for a traffic offense, but it was

out of Lawrence County and not extraditable.

I know about that. The cops let me go that day, too.

Until his outstanding warrant is resolved, he will continue to be stopped

every time he crosses the border.

But for now, he leaves a happy man.

All right, man, you're good to go. I appreciate you. Take care.

They took care of me. I got treated awesome.

The experience of being in jail is terrifying, but the treatment that they

gave me, I'm out here feeling good.

At the southern border, officers must remain vigilant to all types of

contraband.

Among the items banned from entering the U.S. are foods that could carry invasive

species or disease.

This afternoon, a truck packed with goods from Mexico has been stopped.

The driver, who is with her father, is carrying 200 Mexican eggs.

Fresh eggs.

Which are strictly prohibited because they can spread avian flu.

Mangoes can carry fruit flies, which attack American fruit and vegetable

crops, causing millions of dollars in damage.

The

woman

claims there is nothing more to declare, but with two prohibited items found so

far,

Agricultural specialist Rodriguez is not convinced.

I asked her if she could take off the tarp that she has in the back of the

truck, and she kind of hesitated. She was like, oh, really? I have to? And

that kind of gives us a sign. Like, I don't know. For me, it's more, it makes

me wonder what they have in there or why she doesn't want me to look in it.

I got some animal vaccines.

Looks like an antihistamine for dogs.

I asked them specifically for at-home, and they said no.

So we'll probably do a full surge.

So this is a rabies vaccine right here that they didn't declare.

And then this one, I can't tell right off the top of my head which one it is,

but it is some sort of immunization.

Importing veterinary medications, particularly those containing live

viruses, is forbidden.

They can pose significant risks to human safety from unintentional exposure.

Yeah, this one also does have a live virus inside of it. So these are

prohibited.

And they kept them cold. They kept them inside this ice pack to keep them cold.

The woman has some questions to answer.

The woman is already facing a $300 fine for transporting prohibited fruit in A.

The discovery of the veterinary med could result in a more serious penalty,

and the officer is not done yet.

According to the lady, she crosses about three times a year, so they'll buy items

in bulk from Mexico to last them until their next trip.

Based on my experience, I feel like I tend to find more things on

those vehicles that have more things.

I don't know. They still have a bunch of stuff back here.

You just never know what you're going to find.

The Detroit Ambassador Bridge is a key trading

route between the U.S. and Canada.

You guys are going to be staying in the United States and have a pickup from

medicine. You guys drive safe, okay? We have a small void over here. If we

wanted to crawl in, we could have a look.

Okay. A lot of people think crossing the border is just passenger. Sure.

A lot of it does have to do with that, but a lot of people forget that.

We are the busiest land border in the northern border when it comes to trucks

as well.

So it's a pretty big deal.

All good.

All set.

You got to check every little nook and cranny there is because you never know

what's going to be there.

Recently.

CBP officers here have noticed a surprising trend.

We've been seeing a lot of large narcotics loads that have been exiting

the country.

In the last two months alone, over $20 million worth of cocaine has been seized

from trucks heading north into Canada.

We've been focusing more on commercial areas.

So we're looking for any sort of contraband that went inside these

trucks.

It's 7 a.m.

Rookie officer Gil Martin, who joined the team just one month ago, calls in a

suspicious truck for inspection.

The guy stated he was coming from Wisconsin and stopped in Indiana for the

night.

What? Wisconsin's not that far away. There's really no need to stop right

there for a whole night, so that's why I referred him over.

It wasn't for evidence of, like, things he bought.

We're just doing an examination of the cab, seeing if we find anything.

Officers search for anything that could link the truck to a smuggling operation.

You want to see the money? Yeah. See how much it is.

You good? Yeah, I'm good. All right.

Officer Maciejewski.

scrutinizes the trailer.

We're looking for stuff that is out of the ordinary.

In this particular case, it would be like in the flooring of the trailer.

It's any sort of manipulation of going through and trying to conceal something.

In this particular trailer, we don't see anything that seems out of the ordinary.

But the officers are not finished with the truck yet and send it for an X-ray.

They quickly spot an irregularity.

This is a cargo compartment underneath the trailer. It appears empty.

You can see here, it looks like there could be something here.

It is loaded with a bunch of boxes. It looks like there could be some

contraband in.

We're going to go ahead and take this around to the dock, open it up, and see

what we got in there.

Well, we located the compartment that typically drivers are going to use to

put their tie-down straps or mats or blankets to go through and secure the

commodity that they're hauling.

Take everything out, Jim? Yeah, I'm taking it.

Hidden behind the tie-downs, traps, and blankets are eight large boxes.

So we're seeing multiple boxes.

As you can see here, we can see bricks, which is consistent with what we see

with possible narcotics trafficking.

Wow. Yeah, that's a lot.

In Eagle Pass.

So this is a rabies vaccine right here that they didn't declare.

Agricultural specialist Rodriguez has found truth in prohibited animal

medications in a woman's truck that she's trying to reenter the U.S.

So this is more veterinary use medication.

Looks like another antihistamine for dogs.

With veterinary medicines much cheaper in Mexico.

The team is always alert to the possibility of deliberate smuggling.

Initially, I did clearly ask her if she had any animal medications. I typically

ask specifically for that because a lot of times they'll have it and they won't

declare it. She didn't declare it.

Since the woman failed to declare the meds, she'll now receive a fine.

Two years. Two years, okay.

So, I don't know if they explained it to you, but if you get a fine again, the

fine is $500.

Can you tell me what happens?

I mean, to be careful.

Well, hopefully there won't be... No, what happens, I ask you because I've

seen if it happens or not.

If it happens a third time, there won't be a fine, but they're going to send you

to...

The fruit and veterinary medications will be seized and destroyed.

Thank you.

So moral of the story is declare everything you bring in from Mexico.

The woman is free to continue her journey. If she's caught again, she will

face more serious consequences.

Officer Maciejewski has uncovered large amounts of contraband in the cargo

compartment of an 18-wheeler truck.

We're seeing multiple boxes.

As you can see here, we can see bricks, which is consistent with what we see

with possible narcotics trafficking.

Wow. Yeah, that's a lot.

We're going to unload the boxes.

I'm new on this, but

it's a great feeling. First load I referred in and I was ecstatic about it.

Although the majority of seizures at this border are cocaine, The team tests

the powder to confirm what they are dealing with.

There's all kinds of drugs with white powder. It could be fentanyl, heroin.

So we just need to verify.

The device we're using is called a TrueNarc.

This detects all kinds of narcotics.

There's hundreds of narcotics in the library for this.

So it just took the sample. It's analyzing right now.

It is cocaine.

Is that good? Yeah, that's good.

While most cocaine is smuggled into Canada by sea, interceptions at the U.S.

land border are on the rise.

Now we're just trying to get a weight for all the bricks.

So we'll have to get it on one scale to get what we call a net weight.

When they package these, they usually will package them. Each one is a

kilogram.

If this cocaine had made it into Canada, each brick could have netted the drug

cartel as much as 90,000 U.S. dollars.

It is a good amount, for sure.

This seizure contains over 150 bricks with a potential street value of around

$15 million.

Even by CBP standards, this is a huge load.

This is everything that we worked so hard for, finding something like this.

The drugs will be passed on to Homeland Security Investigations, who will also

look into the driver's role in the trafficking.

If convicted, he could be facing at least 10 years in prison.

To get a win like this is huge.

It's just the best feeling.

For the rookie Gilmartin, just a month after she joined the team, it's an

extraordinary find.

This is what I want to keep doing. I want to...

you know keep it off the streets protect not even just adults but children who

get a hold of this stuff and that's the reason why i'm here today so i didn't

even know this was one of the biggest loads you know like i'm so new that i

don't really realize that kind of stuff but it's a great feeling