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00:08The San Ysidro Port of Entry is the busiest land border crossing in the Western Hemisphere.
00:16Every day, 90,000 people pass through it.
00:20Are you bringing back anything from Mexico?
00:22No fruits or vegetables, alcohol, tobacco today?
00:25No, not today?
00:26All right.
00:28Officers have the authority to question and stop any traveler.
00:32Do you mind opening the trunk?
00:39Being here at the border, it's not like civilian police department where you're going to need a little bit more
00:44to go inside the vehicle.
00:45We have border search authority.
00:47This afternoon, a woman and her friend returning from Mexico have been selected for a routine check.
01:05It's not long before the canine leads Officer Bumpus to an area under the hood.
01:17So my dog was alerting under the vehicle, like towards the front end of the vehicle.
01:21So we're checking it out right now.
01:24That's exactly where he was going.
01:28And this feels solid, too.
01:51A secret compartment is stuffed full of what looks like prescription medication.
02:09We have to do what we have to do.
02:25We have to do what we have to do.
02:34On any given day, there are over 2 million outstanding arrest warrants for wanted criminals in the U.S.
02:41You need one ID or two IDs?
02:43No, no, no. I don't need the military.
02:44That's the military.
02:45Look at the camera, please.
02:46Everyone returning from Mexico is subject to a background check.
02:54This afternoon, a woman coming home after a day trip to Progreso has been stopped.
03:03So we had a pedestrian traveling from Progreso, Mexico, and through pedestrian.
03:10And the subject came out as a positive for a warrant.
03:15Right now, there's no information about what crime the woman is wanted for.
03:25In her case, I asked her if she was ever been detained, had trouble with the law enforcement at any
03:31time.
03:32She said no.
03:33She said she also has family members that work for the PD in Fort Worth, Texas.
03:39So that's irrelevant for us because a human being is a human being.
03:42Officer Maureen runs the woman's fingerprints.
03:45There we go.
03:46Go like this.
03:47But keep this right here.
03:49To check that her ID matches the warrant.
03:56Thank you, ma'am.
04:07Information soon comes through from the issuing authority, which is in another county 500 miles away.
04:14It did confirm for an outstanding warrant out of Gainesville, Texas, for larceny, which was inputted back in November of
04:24last year.
04:25Okay, ma'am.
04:26You can step out.
04:27You can put your shoes on right here.
04:30And then you can give your items to your husband right now.
04:34While they wait to find out whether Gainesville PD wants to arrest her,
04:39officer Maureen allows the woman to speak with her husband.
04:44Sir, your wife?
04:46You may speak to her if you need to.
04:47She wanted to give you the belongings.
04:49I don't know.
04:50Since about Gainesville?
04:52You have nothing in Gainesville.
04:53I don't understand.
04:54I don't either.
04:55I don't know what it is.
04:56So did a supervisor speak to you already?
04:58He just gave me blanket, nothing specific.
05:00I don't know what's going on.
05:01So here's the thing, okay?
05:03She came out as a positive for a warrant, an outstanding warrant out of Gainesville, Texas.
05:07For what?
05:08For larceny.
05:10For that?
05:13Okay.
05:14Okay.
05:16She says she's in Gainesville.
05:17There's nothing for her.
05:18She doesn't have anything.
05:19So we live in Fort Worth.
05:20We have no business in Gainesville.
05:22We don't do anything against her.
05:23Like I'm saying, you have a job.
05:24Do you work?
05:25Yes.
05:26Okay, so you do your job.
05:27We're just doing our job.
05:28That's it.
05:29We're going fast.
05:30I understand completely.
05:31Right.
05:31Our whole family is police officers, Fort Worth Police Department.
05:34Right.
05:34She informed me about that.
05:35The Marin County Commissioner.
05:36So I mean, this is not a typical M.O. for someone that's going to...
05:40We've seen everything in occupation title that's irrelevant to who gets arrested and who doesn't.
05:46I understand.
05:46But I understand where you're coming from.
05:48I'm just letting you know this is your opportunity to speak to her right now.
06:00I was reading her body language and he was like, kind of like, what?
06:04And she was like, the check.
06:24At the San Ysidro crossing.
06:26It's the front end behind the tire.
06:29Oh, there it is.
06:30Yep.
06:32Hook him up.
06:33A woman and her friend returning to the U.S. have been detained.
06:38After a search of their vehicle, uncovered medication hidden in the dashboard.
06:45There should be an airbag in here.
06:48So an officer pulled this up and there's a bunch of medicine back in here.
06:54The contraband consists of packets of diet pills and bottles of medicated shampoo.
07:00Then there's medicine also in the mirror.
07:05The two women entered the border in the fast lane.
07:08Used only for pre-vetted drivers holding a sentry pass.
07:13They are global and sentry members also.
07:16So they rarely get inspected.
07:21So they thought they would try it.
07:24The amount smuggled in is assigned to Supervisor Walker.
07:28It's not for personal use.
07:31What they do is they try and take this medication probably to a swap meet
07:37and try to resell it for probably a little bit more than what they bought it for in Mexico.
07:45And that's obviously not authorized.
07:48That's why they're hiding it.
07:49So we'll go ahead and seize the medicine.
07:53The car is taken to a secure area where Officer Roque will carry out a thorough search.
08:01Dashboard's a pretty common concealing method.
08:03People will just create these little areas to hide stuff so they can smuggle things through.
08:06This right here is like a people use for weight loss.
08:09It's a schedule for a controlled substance.
08:12I think these people use it for like weight loss and different things or at least I hope it's just
08:16for that.
08:16This weight loss drug is popular in Mexico but not approved for use in the U.S.
08:23creating a black market for smuggled pills.
08:26I don't know how much more is in here so I'll have to check in the dashboard and ever
08:29and see if there's anything else hidden anywhere else.
08:34It's a shampoo.
08:35I guess it's some sort of medical shampoo.
08:36I have no idea.
08:40I don't know if it's in under here.
08:41Actually, oh, it is.
08:42Yeah, so it's all in here too.
08:44So I'll have to open all this up.
09:08Okay, now, you could step out.
09:10You could put your shoes on.
09:12In Progreso, a woman returning home from a day trip to Mexico has been detained
09:17because she has a warrant out for larceny.
09:20Whenever she had the opportunity to give her belongings to her husband,
09:25she was trying to whisper something to him.
09:28I was reading her body language and he was like, kind of like, what?
09:32And she was like, the check.
09:35Was that check that y'all talking about in November?
09:37We had a contractor that worked for us.
09:39Mm-hmm.
09:39In 23?
09:42That was 23.
09:4222, 23.
09:44That's the only check.
09:45We had a contractor that worked for us.
09:48The couple paid a man to do some work on their property.
09:51They wrote a check, which bounced.
09:56That would be a simple thing.
09:57It wouldn't be charged larceny on that because it wasn't written to a business or anything like that.
10:02It was to an individual.
10:03No, no.
10:03It was to the contractor.
10:08Okay, perfect.
10:10Have a good day.
10:12The Hidalgo Sheriff's Office confirms that they will be coming to arrest the woman
10:18before extraditing her back to the county that issued the warrant.
10:21We only have so much information right now when Hidalgo County arrives.
10:26She has any further questions because they're actually the ones who are going to take over.
10:30She could ask them.
10:32And then she'd have to go all the way back to Gainesville.
10:34Like I said, they're going to answer your questions.
10:46All right.
10:48I'll get to the bottom of it.
10:50I'll get to the bottom of it.
10:51I said, obviously, I'm following you around.
10:54So, you know, I'm going to make sure you're okay.
10:57Ma'am, do you give her the purse?
10:59And then, sir, do you want to give her a last hug before they pick her up?
11:02You know?
11:02Right here?
11:03No, but, I mean, as a husband and wife, I'm pretty sure you want to give her a hug.
11:07You know?
11:08We're human beings right there.
11:21All right.
11:22Love you.
11:24You there?
11:25I know.
11:26I know you can't take that.
11:27My brain's in it.
11:28All right.
11:30An officer from Hidalgo County arrives to make their arrest.
11:36Yes, sir.
11:39Officer, why don't you give me instructions, okay?
11:42Hello, ma'am.
11:43Are you a...
11:45Yes.
11:46I'm picking you up because you got a warrant out of Cook County.
11:50So, we'll take you to custody to our county jail, and they'll pick you up from our county.
11:55They'll take you back to Cook County, okay?
11:57So, I'm going to put the cuffs on you.
12:02Thank you, sir.
12:03Thank you very much.
12:03Have a good one.
12:04According to her, she never had a criminal record, never been arrested, never had a deal
12:09of pat down before, but anyways, wish you're the best, and remember, learn your lesson and
12:16stay out of trouble.
12:38Every day, around 10,000 people cross the Camino Real Bridge.
12:46Among the travelers are paqueteros, unofficial couriers, carrying goods across the southern
12:53border.
12:59Although lucrative work, it comes with a risk, because the drivers are rarely aware of what
13:05they're bringing in.
13:10Yeah, I want to scan all of it.
13:12Today, a courier entering into Mexico with a trailer has been sent to secondary inspection.
13:21This driver was coming from Houston, headed to Guanajuato, Mexico.
13:26We selected him because he had a lot of merchandise that he's taking to Mexico for other people.
13:33The Mexican drug cartels are known to hide cash and guns in paqueteros' cargo.
13:42Suspicious that the trailer may contain contraband, officers put the whole shipment through an
13:48x-ray machine.
13:55Nothing yet.
14:05But it's not long before the x-ray reveals a suspicious outline.
14:11And it looks like we have one firearm and some ammunition in this box.
14:33It looks like we have the firearm here and ammunition in this boot.
14:39The man is immediately detained.
14:44While Officer Ruiz examines the concealment method.
14:48It could be for the x-ray.
14:50It could be for the canine.
14:52Try to hide the smell or the odor of the firearm.
14:55That way our canine doesn't hit on it.
14:57But in this case, we were able to locate it using the x-ray.
15:03Which is factory food.
15:07Because Mexico has strict laws preventing the purchase of guns, every year around 150,000
15:14firearms are smuggled into the country by criminal gangs.
15:18So the gentleman's claiming that he didn't know about the firearm.
15:22One, he can be facing charges.
15:24His vehicle can be seized.
15:26There's a lot of different scenarios.
15:27But right now, we have to wait for HSI to see if they're going to want to do further investigation
15:31on this or take him from there.
15:34Smuggling a hidden weapon is a serious crime.
15:37Homeland Security Investigations will question the man further to decide whether to prosecute.
15:56In San Diego, two women have been detained after a search of their car revealed a hidden
16:02compartment stuffed full of prescription medication.
16:06I don't know if it's under here.
16:07Actually, oh, it is.
16:08Yeah, so it's all under here too.
16:10There's a lot more hidden than Officer Roque initially thought.
16:14So I'll have to open all this up.
16:24Just one.
16:39Yeah, so it's, how far does it go?
16:41Uh, actually, it looks like it stops right here.
16:43So I saw it's about right in here.
16:46That way.
16:48I go the way down.
16:55I've never seen this before, so I'm not sure what kind of shampoo it is.
17:00So I'll have to look it up.
17:07This anti-dandruff shampoo isn't prohibited.
17:09But bringing in large commercial amounts without declaring it is against the law.
17:18It's a hole down here on this side.
17:21Under here.
17:22Yeah, through here.
17:30I think that's all of it.
17:34For smuggling shampoo, as well as the diet pills, the driver of the vehicle is facing
17:40a significant penalty, typically three times the value of what's found.
17:46Every pill and bottle must be counted.
17:50All right, this might take a little while.
18:05So each one of these has 20, so, um, 20 times 15 times all of this, uh, it's gonna be
18:11a
18:12decent amount of money.
18:16All right, so that should be 20 right there.
18:21I highly doubt they, uh, need to lose as much weight, um, so they're gonna probably sell
18:27to someone, some market somewhere or somewhere.
18:29A packet of diet pills bought in Mexico for $16 could sell for twice as much on the black
18:36market.
18:37But taking them comes with risks, because the pills contain the appetite suppressant,
18:42fentermine, and long-term use can lead to drug dependency.
18:46People can abuse this substance.
18:48So, people buying this, like, off the street or some, uh, market somewhere or from someone,
18:53they can be abused and they can, like, you know, it can cause people issues.
18:56So if people are taking too much of this medication, they could have a serious medical condition.
19:00In total, 11,400 pills are counted, alongside 260 bottles of shampoo, adding up to a retail
19:09value of over $10,000.
19:13I'm gonna get her, um, into our office here, issue her the penalty, so you can make two
19:18choices.
19:18She can either, uh, agree to pay the penalty or contest it.
19:23So, um, you've had a bunch of medication in your vehicle, okay?
19:26I noticed.
19:29So, um, since you can see all the medication that you didn't declare, we do have to issue
19:33a penalty today, okay?
19:34This is your first offense doing this, so we're going to go ahead and mitigate it, okay?
19:38Since it's the woman's first time being caught, her fine is reduced to $2,500.
19:45I'll do the petition.
19:47You want to contest it?
19:47Yes.
19:48All right.
19:48Despite owning the vehicle, the woman denies all knowledge of the medication and says she
19:54will be appealing her charge.
19:56Is there a certain amount of time I need to wait?
19:58I would say do it within 30 days.
19:59The sooner, the better.
20:00Okay.
20:01Okay.
20:01So that's your copy?
20:02Okay.
20:02Okay.
20:02And then I'll get your friend, okay?
20:03Okay.
20:05Outside, her friend is also facing punishment.
20:08The loss of her trusted traveler status.
20:12Since you're traveling with her and you're both smuggling medication across the border,
20:15um, your sentries are being lifted.
20:17Line two?
20:18Yes.
20:19Since you're both crossed and they're...
20:20It wasn't my fault.
20:22Her vehicle had, um, a lot of concealed medication, so she was issued a penalty and all medication
20:26that was concealed within the vehicle was seized.
20:28I don't understand.
20:29You don't understand that there was medication concealed within her dashboard.
20:32We're informing you right now that there was medication within the vehicle.
20:35Yes, and we're telling you right now that there's medication within the vehicle.
20:38You're good to go, okay?
20:40This woman has escaped a heavy fine, but both travelers have lost their sentry cards,
20:45adding hours to their future border crossings.
21:11In Eagle Pass, a courier has been detained after being caught smuggling a weapon into Mexico.
21:19So, the gentleman's claiming that he didn't know about the firearm.
21:23One, he can be facing charges.
21:25Uh, his vehicle can be seized.
21:27There's a lot of different scenarios, but right now we have to wait for HSI to see if they're
21:30going to want to do further investigation on this or, uh, take them from there.
21:35These are 40, and this firearm is 40 as well.
21:39So, yes, these rounds are for this pistol.
21:43They don't check the merchandise that they're taking into Mexico, so it makes it easier for
21:48somebody to send something, uh, illegal like this.
21:51Only one pistol was found, but that alone can be sold for hundreds of dollars on the black
21:56market in Mexico.
21:58We were able to seize one firearm, a magazine, and a total of 50 rounds, uh, which is a good
22:03thing for us.
22:04Whatever reason they were using it for over there in Mexico, they were exporting it illegally.
22:09Since the courier has no prior history and claims no knowledge of the weapon, this time,
22:15he won't face any charges.
22:18So, as of right now, HSI has deferred, uh, prosecution.
22:22Firearms gonna stay here in our possession, it's gonna be seized, and the rest of the items
22:26that the gentleman was carrying with him, he's gonna be free to go with.
22:28But he's not completely in the clear.
22:30New laws created to crack down on cartel crime have recently been passed.
22:35The form this guy just signed, essentially, the United States government's labeled the
22:40cartel a terrorist organization, and this form, we have it in English and Spanish, it
22:44says, if you have any affiliation, and we find out you do, the law is gonna go after you
22:49in full extent.
22:50They read this, they sign it, we find out through investigation that they have any affiliation
22:56to the cartel, they're going to jail.
22:58By signing the form, the driver is declaring his innocence.
23:02But if he's lying, and later found to have cartel links, he could then be arrested.
23:09It wasn't a good thing that they were having this firearm hidden within these containers,
23:13and good thing we were able to get it.
23:23The Ambassador Bridge links Windsor, Canada, with Detroit, Michigan.
23:31Every day, almost $320 million worth of goods from Canada, crossing trucks bound for the U.S.
23:40How you doing, sir?
23:41Good afternoon.
23:45Officers are always on the lookout for anything illegal entering the country.
23:49I'm gonna send you through X-ray, okay?
23:51So what you're gonna do is, you're gonna stay to your right, go around, and then you're
23:54gonna see a sign for X-ray.
23:57Including agricultural items that could be carrying insects and pests harmful to U.S.
24:03crops.
24:05All right, just come right over here with me.
24:10Right over here, sir.
24:12I'm gonna have you bring your truck, pop your seal, open your door, and back all the way
24:16to door number four.
24:17Door number four.
24:18Okay.
24:18All right, perfect.
24:20Today, agriculture specialist Garza is carrying out a series of spot checks on inbound trucks.
24:27He's called in container full of flowers.
24:31Today, we're gonna be looking at some plants, plant commodities.
24:35We're gonna be looking for live mites, slugs, snails, plant diseases.
24:39These species could be harmful to America's agriculture.
24:42We're trying to do our best to safeguard that.
24:53Even though these flowers have come from a pest-controlled greenhouse in Canada, there could still
24:59be bugs hidden within.
25:03See if we can find anything here.
25:06Using his flashlight, Officer Garza begins the first step of his inspection.
25:12He focuses on a cross-section of the shipment.
25:29I don't see anything so far.
25:32Any track marks, any bite marks, or anything just that stuns out, out of the normal.
25:36It's not always guaranteed that there's gonna, it's gonna be a pest-free plant.
25:46So that's why it's always good just to check.
25:51Do a visual inspection, a thorough visual inspection on these.
25:59So there's something right over here.
26:05If the insect Officer Garza has spotted turns out to be an invasive species, the entire shipment
26:13will be refused entry into the U.S., costing the shipper thousands of dollars.
26:31The Camino Real Bridge links the city of Eagle Pass with Piedras Negras, Mexico.
26:44I'm just looking at the natural voice that these pickups have, but this one right now looks good.
26:50Officers stay vigilant for signs of anything unusual or suspicious.
26:56You have to process vehicles, you know, in a timely manner.
26:59But then also you have to, you know, realize which ones are kind of iffy, or you don't like
27:03the story or something.
27:10So, really, the officers only have, you know, less than a minute, sometimes less than 30 seconds
27:14to process a vehicle, right?
27:16So that's one of the challenges that our officers face.
27:22Got a vehicle coming in from lane 7 to Canada from number 3.
27:27Even at midnight, the cars are still streaming in.
27:30And the driver with a missing front license plate heading to Mexico has been flagged for
27:36further inspection.
27:38It didn't have a front plate, so that was my first issue with it.
27:43Once I stopped it, I saw he had multiple boxes.
27:46Boxes are typically what we call here encargos, or they're taking parcels or packages on behalf
27:53of somebody else to Mexico.
28:00The man has also told Officer Figueroa that the pickup belongs to someone else.
28:36The man's claim to be driving his friend's truck across the border while he has dinner raises
28:43more questions for Officer Figueroa.
28:46So, nothing of what you have here is yours.
28:49It's yours.
28:50It's yours.
28:51It's yours.
28:52Who are they?
28:53Alfonso.
28:53Alfonso, okay.
28:55Alfonso.
28:55What did you tell him to cross the car with all these things?
28:57He helped him.
28:58When I saw him, I was crying.
29:00The man's story isn't adding up.
29:03Very vague responses, because obviously he doesn't know the answers to what I was trying
29:08to get from him.
29:09It didn't make sense why he needed to be crossing the vehicle on behalf of his friend.
29:15A discrepancy in the vehicle's registration papers is yet another red flag.
29:20So, the paperwork says is the owner.
29:24He's telling me that his friend's name, which is the owner of the vehicle, is Alfonso.
29:29So, that doesn't match.
29:31With growing doubts over who actually owns the vehicle and its cargo, officers begin
29:37to suspect the driver could be carrying out illicit activity for a cartel.
29:44They will need to search the car for further clues.
29:57In Detroit, a shipment of flowers from Canada has been sent for inspection.
30:02To enter the U.S., all plants must be free of any harmful pests that can damage crops.
30:20Officer Garza thinks he may have spotted an insect in the plants, so he wants to carry
30:25out a more detailed inspection on some of the flowers.
30:28So, we'll just get a sample of everything, mix it all in there.
30:34And this is just for micro-sized insects, organisms that we may find.
30:41And if it's not admissible, then the truck gets rejected back to Canada, and it will be given
30:47an emergency action notice to be re-delivered and be fumigated for these bugs.
30:56So, that's one pile right there.
31:00Even insects not seen by the naked eye can carry diseases.
31:06To catch these microscopic creatures, Officer Garza uses a special kit.
31:12This is what's known as burlesi funnels, they're just heat lamps.
31:18That releases all the moisture from the plants, so all the bugs, insects, anything like that
31:23will fall down this funnel, and we'll put a little tray full of alcohol, and they would
31:29all fall down there, and then from there we'll collect the samples that we find.
31:34So what we're going to do now is we're going to juice these containers up, filling it up with
31:38alcohol, so all the animal, or any little insects that fall into here, will stay in there.
31:44So all we're going to do here is just stuff our burlesi funnel.
31:50Just turn this on, just like that, and put it right over.
31:53And it will give these about 30, 40 minutes, just where it can dry up completely and let
31:58all that organisms fall through.
32:01As the plants dry out, Officer Garza inspects one last plant sample looking for bugs.
32:09What we could do here is just try to shake, see if anything comes out.
32:14In 2024, almost 80,000 citations were issued to commercial vehicles crossing with contaminated
32:21produce, preventing millions of dollars worth of damage to U.S. agriculture.
32:27A detrimental insect coming into the United States could be as harmful as any drug shipment
32:33found.
32:34So it's always good just to check, like the slogan says, don't pack a pest.
32:41So far, nothing has been discovered.
32:46But if anything suspicious is found in the burlesi funnels, then all the flowers will be returned.
32:53Let's see what we got.
32:56So these have been on for about 20, 30 minutes for now.
33:04There's that set.
33:06So yeah, there are some mites, but like I said, they're microscopic.
33:10So these are not actionable.
33:14The search has found only harmless mites.
33:18Just going to check this one right here.
33:22Some mites, all that little bunched up.
33:25Like I said, the mites that will be found here will be microscopic.
33:28So this shipment's good to go.
33:30Release them and we'll let them down the road.
33:38These plants are coming from a Canadian greenhouse.
33:41They did a good job cleaning and making sure that they're pesticide free.
33:46The driver and his flowers are clear to continue on their journey.
33:51It'll make somebody's mom or dad happy with these flowers.
34:09In Eagle Pass, a driver has been stopped when attempting to cross from the U.S. and New Mexico.
34:23He admits he doesn't own the car he's driving.
34:26But the name he's given as the owner doesn't correlate with the vehicle's registration.
34:32The name that the driver provided doesn't match the paperwork
34:35that he gave me on the title of the vehicle nor the insurance.
34:39He claims he's transporting the truck in boxes for a friend.
34:42But officers suspect he's being used by a cartel.
34:47So that's why I still not satisfied with whatever is going with this vehicle right now.
34:53So we'll load everything, scan it through, do a physical inspection of the vehicle,
34:58make sure everything is good.
35:04Nine times out of ten, these people that are taking these items to Mexico,
35:09they don't inspect the stuff, and the people take advantage of that to try to hide contraband,
35:14weapons, ammo, money, things like that.
35:20He's responsible for everything that's in the vehicle.
35:22So if we get to find something, it's his fault.
35:26Large TV!
35:29Hey, Figueroa!
35:30So far, no anomalies.
35:34This is the golden nugget.
35:40These compressors are famous for having stuff inside that's not supposed to be.
35:54The load is given the all clear, but drug cartels are known to hide contraband inside a vehicle's bodywork.
36:03The pickup is sent for an x-ray.
36:063-4, 3-4, are we up?
36:0910-4, stand by.
36:17Take them.
36:2120-20.
36:2220-20?
36:24Let's see what dark masses we see in the vehicle,
36:27back to compartment or in the suit items.
36:30Nothing suspicious is spotted within the truck,
36:33but Officer Rodriguez sees something else unusual.
36:37The vehicle is concealed with a plastic film, which covers up your license
36:42tax.
36:42You won't be able to read it, so it's got a film on.
36:49Lights?
36:52It's going to have a plastic film on the numbers.
36:54They're somewhere here.
36:55Once the vehicle went through, the license plate reader didn't pick up the license plate.
37:01When you see the picture of the license plate reader, it's all blacked out.
37:06The plate has been deliberately tampered with to stop the car from being tracked by vehicle
37:11recognition cameras. This concealment and the driver not knowing the car's real owner
37:17are all signs that the vehicle might be stolen.
37:33In Eagle Pass, a driver crossing into Mexico with a suspicious truck has been stopped.
37:40Officers have discovered the license plate has been tampered with.
37:44The Eagle Pass is concealed with a plastic film, which covers up your license tax.
37:49You won't be able to read it, so it's got a film on.
37:52Here in Eagle Pass, we have a lot of tendencies of vehicles going outbound that are stolen.
37:59These type of trucks, they're used a lot by the cartels.
38:02They use it for type of payments or for doing their crimes over there in Mexico.
38:09Concerned the vehicle might be stolen, officers decide to run a check on its serial number,
38:14known as the VIN.
38:18You can identify the VIN to make sure it matches the VIN on the windshield.
38:21Criminals sometimes fraudulently change the VIN marked on a vehicle's exterior to mask its theft.
38:28The machine that we have, that we connected through that port,
38:32and we can actually look for the original VIN number that's embedded within the program of the computer.
38:38If it doesn't match, then you probably have a stolen vehicle.
38:49This time, the vehicle identification number is a match, and the car hasn't been reported as stolen.
39:02With questions remaining about the car's ownership, officers ask the driver to call his friend.
39:16He admits he doesn't own the car either, and says he was paid to pick it up in Indiana and
39:22take it south.
39:25He wants to bring it up to Mexico.
39:29Officer Figueroa now suspects the man has been asked to drive over a newly purchased car
39:34that hasn't been declared to customs officials.
39:37Okay, well, the owner of the car has to come to the police station of Eagle Pass
39:45with evidence that it's his car to be able to take it from the inbound lot.
40:08The person, he didn't give me a name, the person who had the vehicle over in
40:12upstate Indiana, told him to bring it down. The thing is, yes, you can export a vehicle to Mexico,
40:20there's no issues with it, but there's a process. And that process starts with us,
40:25as U.S. Customs and Border Protection. You have to bring it for exportation,
40:2972 hours prior of the vehicle exiting through a port of entry into another country.
40:34By not declaring the car, the owner was trying to avoid all the paperwork. But now,
40:39the vehicle and its contents are being impounded. The driver is free to go, on foot. He won't face
40:46any charges for helping out a friend. So right now, everything's going to Eagle Pass PD impound lot,
40:52and tomorrow, the person who's the owner of everything can get in contact with the investigators
40:57in Eagle Pass PD. So he can retrieve all his belongings.
41:27The driver is free to listen to the device.
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