Original subtitles

All travelers are subject to ID checks when entering the United States.

Allowing Customs and Border Protection officers to quickly determine if any are

wanted criminals.

At

the

Progreso Bridge.

A woman returning from Mexico has been flagged in the system.

We just escorted a female subject from the vehicle secondary.

She might have an active warrant.

I believe that they went out there shopping and dental, and now they're

heading back home.

The subject is being non-cooperative.

She's very amped up, and she's doing it a hard time.

Here we go.

Can I get a call?

There's no point in calling right now if you have no idea where you're going.

I need a call.

I need...

To confirm

her identity and verify the warrant, Officer Escalon needs to take the

woman's fingerprints.

Stop banging the door.

Huh? All right, let's go.

Ma'am, I'm going to take your fingerprints. Just relax.

You been in trouble before?

What about it?

Just bear with us, ma'am. We're just trying to get this process going.

Have a seat.

Ma'am, I'm going to escort you to the seat if you don't sit down.

Ma'am, have a seat and sit down.

Don't ever get up without being told to.

Eagle Pass Port of Entry is one of the busiest border crossings in North

America.

Hello, mister. Go on, mister. Your documents?

Yeah.

An estimated 6.5 million pedestrians and vehicles pass through each year.

Y'all bringing anything back from Mexico?

We have two cases up here.

There you go. Thank you. Have a nice day.

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 make and 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 make and model.

This afternoon...

A driver of an SUV who claims to be visiting the U.S. for three 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 high heels, a water jug, and trash.

With all the red flags that she has, I'm going to send her for a C-portal

inspection.

While the woman is detained, her vehicle is sent for an X-ray.

Anomalies 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's take a look over here real quick, sir.

There it is. We got more.

Yeah, let's go.

Having found what looks like drugs, officers moved the car to a secure area

to continue the search.

Let's do it.

There's more over here though.

1, 2,

3, 4, 5.

So, so far we have a total of 15 packages.

Mind this.

We're probably going to find one.

In progresso.

Have a seat and sit down.

Don't ever get up without being told to.

A 21-year-old U.S. citizen returning home has been flagged for an outstanding

arrest warrant.

The subject is being non-cooperative. She's very amped up and she's giving us

a hard time.

After attempting to make a break for it, officers have put the woman back in the

cell.

On the fingerprint?

Okay. Who's that after the warrant?

Okay, perfect.

With her fingerprints matching the arrest warrant, Officer Escalon receives

information from the Houston Sheriff's Office that she's wanted on multiple

counts for possession of drugs.

It seems like they are willing to extradite.

We're going to try to process her as quick as we can and turn her over to the

state and local. This is not her first time. She stated before that she had an

extensive rap sheet, so...

She knows the ropes here.

Back in the cell, the woman shows no sign of calming down.

Yes, ma'am. Can I get a call?

Not at the moment.

And will only be permitted a phone call once she has been transferred to local

police.

We're going to get a call once you...

Yes, ma'am. Once you get transported to the agency that they're going to pick

you up, then you'll receive your car.

Yes, ma'am.

So what?

So what?

So what's going on?

Yeah, well, I just explained to you. They're going to come pick him up. So

once they get here, I'll notify you, and then I'll take you.

Yes, ma'am.

All right. How long is that going to take? I don't know, ma'am. Just bear

with us. We're trying to process as soon as we can. Can I get a phone? No.

Can I get a phone? No.

Can I get a phone?

No, you cannot get a phone call. Okay.

All right.

But just chill out.

Ma'am, you're just going to make it hard on yourself, all right? I hope so.

Okay. Why would you hope so?

Because I'm trying to tell you. I know, but we're not the ones that put you in

this position.

All I'm going to do is give you a phone.

No, ma'am, it doesn't work that way.

Okay.

You can bang all you want, but nobody's going to get your call, ma'am.

Local police arrive to take the woman to county jail.

where she'll be held until extradited 350 miles to Houston.

If later found guilty of the drug offenses, then she could face up to 10

years in jail.

at Eagle Pass International Bridge.

Officers have discovered what appears to be a large stash of narcotics hidden in

a vehicle entering the United States.

Look at the tire, it's not even a tire that it goes in.

Officer Estrada suspects there's even more drugs concealed inside the spare

wheel.

Body check, the spare tire right there is definitely a red flag just because of

the fact that it's not the same, right?

It looks like it's a different type of tire.

Is it going down? Is it going down?

Nah, man, that's not moving.

Maybe I have to cut it.

We tried, bro.

Officers must find a way of getting into the tire.

Oh, it's right there, bro.

If there are drugs inside and a packet is broken,

as well as damaging evidence, it could risk harming the officers.

I think this is, um, this is coke, yeah, coke.

Ready?

It's a boy.

As of right now, six more, but there's still a lot more in here.

I'm in the shower right now.

There's a lot more, bro.

They're all stuck. They're like all stuck.

Officer Barrera takes over.

They're slippery. Yeah, they're super, super.

and removes the final package.

17 in the tire, which seems to be like mixed drugs because they feel different.

So the ones over here feel like some sort of crystal meth, and these look

like cocaine.

Officers aren't convinced they've found everything, though, and bring in a

canine.

The dog alerts to the floor of the trunk.

where more packages are discovered.

Along with the 32 already

found, today's seizure totals 54 bundles of narcotics.

Anything you're bringing back with you other than your personal belongings?

All right, boss. Take care.

With an estimated 393 million privately owned firearms, the United States has

the highest rate of gun ownership in the world.

But without special permission, transporting firearms across a federal

border is strictly forbidden.

It can result in criminal charges.

Any alcohol, tobacco, firearms in the vehicle?

You guys are all set. You have a good day.

At the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.

Officer Watson is working with an American delivery driver who has refused

entry into Canada after a rifle was found in his van.

This individual was sent back.

He was trying to go to Canada, and I believe he's trying to make a delivery,

but they refused his entry because he has a makeshift firearm in the back.

Ah, look, there it is, too.

There's no source of ammunition.

I don't know if there's going to be any documentation for that. There's no

serial number.

This one's going to be a little interesting.

What are you doing?

The man, who says the van is also his home, claims that taking the gun to

Canada was an accident.

I had forgotten about half of the stuff I got in there, so that's why I still

have it today. I thought it was gone.

I can't believe this is happening.

Yeah, I mean, you can't take firearms to Canada, boss. I know, I didn't even have

it. I know.

While the delivery driver waits for the inspection to be completed, Officer

Watson attempts to identify the unusual firearm.

After making sure the weapon was already safe and clear, we were able to handle

it.

Home modified, maybe not homemade, but this was an actual functioning firearm

that he looks like he modified himself with paracord and some

piece of rubber.

Although the weapon appears makeshift, since it's still technically a working

firearm, the man has committed an offense by transporting it through a

federal border.

Once he gets outside, ask him a little more about the weapon because there's

nothing, I mean, there's no way to truly identify it.

This is going to be an interesting thing.

There's a pundit right there, bro.

I think this is Coke, yeah, Coke.

An eagle path.

CBP officers have seized 54 packages of suspected narcotics stashed inside an

SUV.

With the drugs hidden across multiple parts of the vehicle, officers believe

there could still be more.

Okay, let's go.

And want reassurance that nothing has been missed.

There's no more anomalies.

54 packages and a lot of drugs for one vehicle.

The X-ray confirms that the car has been completely stripped of all remaining

contraband, and officers can begin processing the load.

Okay, so we're still going to measure everything out, weigh everything out.

They suspect that the three types of packages contain three different types

of drugs.

So right now what we're doing is we're going to get our test kits going and

maybe get a more definitive answer of what we're working with right now.

They use a laser detection device to accurately identify each type, starting

with the rectangular bricks.

So the Gemini tested positive for cocaine, hydrochloride, so it is

cocaine.

Next, they test a rounder package wrapped in black tape.

So on the way, I felt it was a little bit more crystalline, so right now we

assume it's crystal meth.

2.6 million Americans ages 12 and up report using methamphetamines every

year, and it accounts for the majority of deaths caused by narcotic overdoses.

Methamphetamine, yeah.

Methamphetamine, hydrochloric, what we suspected it was.

Finally, Officer Barrera tests the cylindrical package, wrapped with yellow

tape. And upon removing the layers and him pulling it out, you got a black,

like, super sticky substance.

We're going to go ahead and run it through our narco patches.

A sticky black consistency is a sign that the third drug could be heroin.

If the test pouch turns green, It's a positive match.

Black tar

is an unrefined, impure form of heroin, teeming

with dangerous chemicals.

It's even more deadly to users.

Take our kids and take our neighborhoods.

It always feels good.

The hall has an estimated street value of $1.7 million.

It's a huge win for Officer Barrera and his team.

One, two, three.

Well, the officers have something to celebrate.

The party is over for the driver of the vehicle.

She is handed over to Homeland Security Investigation, who will take over the

case.

If found guilty of trafficking such a large quantity of narcotics, she could

face up to life in prison.

On the northern bank

of the Rio Grande, it's the U.S. city of Brownsville.

Across the river in Mexico is Matamoros, a stronghold for organized crime, where

Mexican cartels use fleets of vehicles to carry out cross-border smuggling.

When someone's lying to you, you can kind of tell. And when they're telling

you the truth, it just kind of flows out. It's natural.

Four?

Okay. And why so much detergent?

But for the most part, you hear the same thing over and over again. Going

shopping, bringing back minuscule items.

But how they say it, that's what's real. That's what you're looking for. That's

the pattern you're trying to pick up on.

The vehicle,

is it registered under your name?

Anybody else?

Tonight,

at the Brownsville Gateway Bridge, a woman has been selected for a random

inspection.

Officers quickly find items that arouse suspicion.

Cartels reuse license plates across different vehicles to confuse detection

systems and disrupt CBP operations.

Concerned this woman could be involved in some kind of smuggling, officers need

to investigate more.

Large amounts of cash can be linked to criminal activity, but the woman says

she only has $250.

Hidden in the woman's back pocket is a stack of $100 bills.

Any currency over $10,000 must

be declared.

If she's carrying more...

She could face federal prosecution.

At the Detroit Windsor Tunnel.

Ah, look, there it is, too.

Officers are investigating an unusual firearm found in the back of a van.

This one's going to be a little interesting.

Okay. The driver has a delivery to make across the border in Canada, but his

homemade rifle caught him in the crosshairs of CBP.

Why were you trying to go to Canada? This needs to be delivered to the

Chrysler Windsor place. Do you have any paperwork at all for that fire?

No, sir.

Self-modified? Self-made?

Somebody tried to shoot my dad with it, and he grabbed it and jerked it away

from him, and then he broke it. So I kind of made it so I could shoot it from

like that with a pistol, and I used to shoot hogs with it. Where was home for

you?

Like Coons, Texas, but I sold my house in Coons. I put a dollar through

college, through law school. So I sold the house and moved out to my mom and

dad's farm out in Spurger, Texas.

Okay. How long have you been on the road?

Probably about six months.

Okay. My mom died last year, and I just really didn't have nothing left.

Well, I'm sorry for your loss, boss. I'm sorry to hear about your mom. That was

about the last thing I took. I was bringing them around with me.

I thought it was gone.

Fortunately for this driver, the officer is satisfied it was an honest mistake.

All right, boss.

Well, I'm going to put that back in the van. We'll get you out of your way,

okay? Thank you. God bless you. Thank you.

All right.

But the gun will need to be disposed of before he tries to cross the border

again. So I put it on the side.

That way when he gets to wherever he's going here in Michigan that he can drop

it off at or properly disposed of. You know, a couple of our police stations

will take it from him and dispose of it.

Everybody's got stories. So thankfully in this case, it's just a guy trying to

make a living.

Has an unusual story for a firearm that he's got with him. But other than that,

everything is good to go.

All right, sir, you're good to grab your dog and get in the van, okay?

Thank you.

Years ago, I used to have like 10 or 12 guns. But, you know, I used to hunt deer

and hunt game and everything.

And when my daughter got in college, I had to sell everything.

And that was the last one I had. I hadn't even fired it in like 10 years.

I don't want it.

But I'm not going to make sure. I may just take it to the police department

and give it to them because I don't want anybody to get a hold of it and be able

to do anything with it.

The man has been spared a penalty, and it's sent on its way.

Back in Brownsville, a woman is being

questioned after a search found multiple license plates in her vehicle and a

large sum of money in her possession.

Failure to declare cash over $10,000 is a federal crime, which can result in a

fine or prosecution.

Okay, so how much money do you have?

$5,000?

Just there.

$220.

$250. Ma'am, so how much money do you have in total?

So $5,250.

Okay, so we're just going to verify that you have that amount?

Okay, so let's go inside.

Do you have any more money in the vehicle? No. No? Are you sure?

Okay.

The woman is taken inside to determine why she has so much cash and why she

concealed it.

She amended her declaration at the last second.

It's a red flag when they don't declare it on primary, and then they do declare

it on secondary. We get that a lot. We get people who come across, say, how

much money are you bringing over?

I don't know, but I'm pretty sure I know exactly what I have on my person. You

know, with a couple questions and an interview, we could get to the bottom of

things.

Officers suspect the woman could be working for a cartel, driving vehicles

with false license plates to be used in smuggling activities.

Since any currency over $10,000 must be

declared, the cash is counted.

What's your uncle's name?

What's your uncle's name?

Why wouldn't you?

I'm sure we already have it, but... What's that?

Okay, super common name.

How did you get the two plates they found in your possession?

Oh, I found them. You found them? Yeah.

I couldn't get them.

Is there a rhyme or reason? Like, you just like different plates?

Yeah.

Just whatever. Looks good?

Yeah.

The undeclared money is below the $10,000 limit.

Despite officers' suspicions, there's no hard evidence that the woman is

doing anything illegal.

She'll be released.

But not before the license plates are seized.

She's going to keep all her money, minus the license plates, but she'll be on her

way. If the woman crosses in the future, she will need to be more careful about

what she is taking with her.

She's a regular, and yeah, we see her often.

In the United States, the average American will spend over $85,000 on

medication in a lifetime.

But lower prices in Mexico fuel a black market.

with people illegally smuggling cheap medicine back into the U.S.

This

afternoon

in Progreso, a man has been detained after Officer Trevino found suspicious

packages in the trunk of his car.

And I asked him what he was bringing back.

And he said, oh, just cookies and chips and treats for my family members over

here in the U.S. And I was like, oh, okay. So I opened the trunk.

It was like this.

So when I grabbed one, they felt different.

Usually with the crackers, you can feel whenever you push it, you can break the

crackers. And not this. This is very hard.

You could tell the packages were altered because they were ripped when we opened

them. This is what we got.

Medication.

This one too.

Pills, Xanax, Accion.

Pretty much everything. They're full to the rim.

All the pills are controlled substances in the United States.

A lot of times what they do this is because family members don't have jobs

in the U.S. and they rely on selling medication in flea markets, on

Marketplace, on Facebook.

just to make, you know, extra money, which is illegal.

So right now we took him inside. He's being fingerprinted, and they're going

to see if they're going to prosecute him.

Smuggling more than 50 pills of a controlled substance can carry a penalty

of up to five years in prison.

The man's fingerprints are taken to see if he has a criminal history.

He has a clean record.

but reveals something shocking about his profession.

The subject stated that he is a general doctor in Mexico.

I can only assume that he is selling this medication to

people over here in the United States.

This quantity of prescription medications could be worth thousands of

dollars on the black market in the U.S.

if the man is selling them.

He faces losing his medical license as well as jail time.

The Ambassador Bridge is North America's busiest commercial artery, facilitating

25% of all U.S.-Canada trade.

Hi, how are you? How are you? How many? Two. Two? Any weapons or firearms?

No, sir.

Have a good evening, okay? Thank you. Take care. Bye.

It's also a popular crossing for artists and musical acts.

Super diverse.

All different walks of life coming across the bridge every day.

It definitely helps to know the surrounding area because if somebody

tells you they're going to a concert that's not here and they say it's here,

obviously they're lying about something. So it kind of heightens our awareness

and what to look for.

This afternoon, a touring band attempting to get across into Canada has

been sent back to CBP officers in Detroit.

We are Death by Romy. I'm Death by Romy's manager. We got turned around in

Canada because we didn't have a stamp in our carnet for all of our audio

equipment. A permit known as a carnet allows expensive equipment to enter a

country for a limited time without paying import duty.

With errors in the band's paperwork, officers must further investigate.

Anytime somebody's returning back from Canada, we do our routine inspection

here. So we're going to go through the band here, go through the trailer that

they're pulling.

The band's performance is scheduled to start in just a few hours.

But for now, they're going nowhere.

We don't want to get stopped and have to cancel the show. That's the worst case

scenario. The clock is ticking.

But Officer Lowe must check that the band has accounted for every piece of

equipment on their carnet.

So it's an inventory of what they've taken out of the country and bringing

back into the country.

Well, it's like they're not bringing something in, like skipping out on

paying taxes or duty on. It's like an expensive guitar, so it's just them

showing that, hey, I bought this here in the States, I didn't buy this in another

country, and I'm bringing it back.

While Officer Lowe continues to inspect the contents of the tour bus, officers

inside assist with the band's paperwork.

So when you go to Canada, tell them that you have a carnet. We did all of that

already.

Oh, they refused you guys because if you turn the carne in and you're missing any

of the blocks in it, they can actually fine you for not exporting or importing

properly. And the fines can be pretty hefty from what we hear. So it's

actually to your benefit that they refused you.

Well, that was a good thing. Yeah.

What do you do in the band?

I'm the manager.

Oh, are you?

That's why they left you with the big part. Yeah, exactly.

I do all the admin.

And you guys are going to Toronto for your show?

Yes. What kind of music is it?

It's like alternative pop.

Where do you play? Like a bar?

We're playing at Adelaide Hall.

Oh, I think I've heard of that. Is that pretty big?

I think it's like 500 cabs. It's not huge. Wow.

With the inspection of the van complete, the necessary amendments are made to the

carnet.

Good luck at your show. Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Group out.

They were great. They were super friendly. It was pretty easy.

Just had to wait around for a while, but it was good.

With the help of the CBP team, the show will go on, and the band can continue

their journey to Toronto for tonight's gig.

So once they're done with their show, they've got to go back through the

process again, and we're going to see them again tomorrow.

In Progreso.

So I opened the trunk.

This is what we got.

Pills, Xanax, Axion, pretty much everything. They're pulled to the rim.

A doctor from Mexico has been caught attempting to smuggle large quantities

of controlled medication into the U.S.

It's easy for somebody to just try to get a hold of a doctor from Mexico and

then just get...

prescribe something, and then he brings them over.

We're going to have to count the pills that we have.

All the medication must be identified and counted. The more there are, the

stiffer the penalty.

Right now we're dealing with Daxion.

This is the use mainly for diet and energy.

but they do have a control substance.

Officer Robles has also identified tramadol, Xanax,

and a surprising fourth drug, misoprostol.

The other medication that is used for abortion, that's a new one. We really

haven't seen that as much.

It's usually used or prescribed for ulcers. However, if any pregnant...

female uses it, it can cause abortion of the fetus.

Following the end of the constitutional right to abortion in 2022,

mysoprostol has been increasingly smuggled from Mexico into the United

States to enable self-managed abortions.

The Xanax is going to be 32206 grams.

Oxygen is going to be 60.1 grams.

Tramadol is going to be 584.78.

This kind of quantity of controlled medications can only mean one thing,

that the man is a dealer.

The street value for the Xanax and Tramadol alone is in excess of $53

,000.

But this man isn't going to get his payday.

Local law enforcement arrives to take the doctor into custody.

You all have a heart count of all of them, right?

Yes. So these are the abortion ones? Yeah.

450 pills.

Do you all see those a lot?

No, we don't see them.

They are going to take the subject and present all the evidence, and the judge

will decide what the consequence will be for him.

The doctor is escorted from the cells to be handed over to the state troopers.

They're going to do state prosecution for smuggling this medication into the

United States, which is a felony.

And also because he is a Mexican resident with a visa, he will be losing

his visa today.

We're going to take you to our office in McAllen. Okay.

And then we'll interview you there, talk to you a little bit in regards to what

you've got here. Okay. And then we'll probably take you to the county jail

from there.

You're going to be charged with the possession of these pills? How long time

am I going to spend in that?

With the doctor on his way to county jail,

it's been a successful seizure for Officer Robles and the Progreso CBP

team.