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00:12And away we go.
00:16We're on our way to one of our off-site express consignment
00:20facility. We're going to be conducting inspections
00:23on multiple shipments that was flagged by one of our units
00:27and hopefully we can get some good stuff.
00:30All right, boys, let's go do this.
00:32The shipments earmarked for inspection are from a European sender.
00:38Hello, guys. We are back.
00:42Whose details bear the hallmarks of a smuggling operation.
00:46This shipment might be good. We're going to be passing it through the x-ray.
00:53Okay. I like that image right there.
00:57That might possibly be something.
01:00So now we're going to do a more thorough inspection.
01:03The way people package things nowadays, anything can be disguised as anything.
01:16This looks like a friendly kid's package. A simple cartoon.
01:19But when we open it, we usually find pills.
01:30Anything in the bag is going to stick me, poke me, cut me, hurt me by any chance.
01:34We're up against a clock.
01:35We're looking for anybody that's not declaring, and there's going to be a lot.
01:53We'll see you next time.
02:11where are your bags this is it this is it yeah i travel late all right have a good day
02:16thank you
02:18today in san francisco
02:28a traveler is being inspected after an x-ray revealed some unusual looking objects in his
02:33luggage i'm just looking for pretty much contraband we are just going to do a quick
02:38baggage inspection just to see what he's bringing in having just landed from china
02:44he claims to have forgotten the combination for the lock on his suitcase so i'm going to need to
02:50cut it open all right which isn't a problem for officer gluzov
02:58you're playing full responsibility of all the items that are in your bags
03:01yes inside the suitcase what's in this box staplers or staples is an unusually large quantity
03:11of office supplies why do you need staples it's about office streets what kind of staples are they
03:19like like regular staples why don't you just go to staples and buy some staples it's cheaper over
03:27officer gluzov counts 30 staplers and over 40 000 staples how many staples do you need
03:38uh how many people do you work with how many is a lot of people wow so many staples
03:50do you usually get inspected no i've never seen staples never seen so many staples
03:56what is this what is this it gives to me okay it's called tea got a little tea
04:06is it mushrooms what is this a gene when tea i don't do it
04:14the traveler claims the mushrooms are for making a traditional infusion
04:19i just gotta test it out but officer gluzov needs to make sure they aren't
04:24the magic kind i'm just gonna test out the mushrooms
04:30psilocybin mushrooms contain hallucinogenic compounds making them a schedule one controlled
04:36substance
04:36i understand everyone gets inspected man you know very small sample
04:44bringing them into the country is a federal crime which can result in a heavy fine and even jail time
05:10okay i like that image right there that might possibly be something
05:16at newark's cargo facility this looks like a friendly kids package a simple cartoon but when
05:22we open it pills officers have intercepted an airmail package from europe one of a large shipment flagged
05:32for inspection after they vacuum seal it they'll wash it with a solvent to get the smell away
05:40from the package so that the drug sniffing dogs can't detect it
05:46all right so let me go ahead
05:51perfect i'm going to try this all right let's go ahead and test
05:56for quick identification officer olivo uses a laser device which searches over 1200 substances
06:04in mere seconds okay we're going to get ready to conduct a scan from cutting agents to narcotics
06:14there it is mdma mdma or ecstasy is a synthetic party drug which is illegal in the u.s and
06:24united
06:25kingdom good job officer olivo it's a hallucinogenic you wake up the next morning not knowing what you're
06:31doing a single pill has a street value of around 80 dollars meaning this pack is likely to be worth
06:40nearly 25 000 this is definitely a good find we get these off the streets
06:47criminal gangs in europe are increasingly manufacturing synthetic drugs to trade directly
06:53with mexican cartels in exchange for cocaine much of their product is trafficked using america's mail
07:01system okay we're good all right we got a few more to go with a further 45 packages in the
07:09shipment
07:11get that envelope maybe something the officers aren't done yet
07:18you can see here there's an envelope and within the envelope you see two distinct packages in there
07:23so once again this is a top view is a side view so this may be uh probable of something
07:31my spider sense is tingling this is packaging very similar to what we just found with the ecstasy pills
07:38bingo once again our cartoon feline friends packaging on the outside with no name brands on the top
07:50okay this looks like a package of ketamine and this possibly could be pink cocaine so we're gonna see
08:00i'm confident that this is going to come out positive for something we shall see
08:10there you go ketamine
08:14ketamine is a fast-acting anesthetic
08:18its growing popularity as a recreational drug has fueled a rapid increase in use in the u.s
08:26this will come back as ketamine as well
08:30there you go ketamine good five it's a it's a party drug it's a huge party drug that they use
08:37constantly
08:38having also tested positive for ketamine officers want to establish why only the second batch is pink
08:46we're going to take a reading of it with the gemini which is a little bit more accurate
08:51this test requires a device with a larger library of chemicals
08:58the pink powder here came back because ketamine uh mixed with mdma a potentially lethal cocktail
09:06both substances have been linked to fatal strokes and heart attacks
09:14we're just we're killing it today yeah so basically it looks it's one of those days sometimes we get
09:20nothing sometimes we may get maybe one maybe two but today it looks like we're getting a slew of illicit
09:27contraband coming through the port today so it's a good day this i don't know what this one is we're
09:32gonna have to test this but here we go with more party pills problem is a lot of people take
09:37too much of
09:38this stuff they wind up od-ing and they're trying to celebrate something a celebration turns into a tragedy
09:45we might have more another suspect right here another suspect another suspect we're gonna pull all three
09:54it's a frenzy all today's the x-ray directs them towards a further twenty thousand dollars worth of
10:02party drugs positive for mdma these smugglers will try anything and everything to get the little
10:12packages through three hours in have another one the search takes a turn this is this is something else
10:26that possibly this could be testosterone this package appears to be from a different center
10:33this time in turkey we're gonna have our officer and test this to see what it really is
10:59is it mushrooms what is this in san francisco secondary a man referred for a suitcase search
11:09he's gonna test out the mushrooms is attempting to bring mushrooms into the country from china
11:17we just need a very small sample he claims they're for making tea
11:25i don't know what it is so but if they contain hallucinogenic psilocybin the test will turn purple
11:37and the traveler will be in hot water
11:42yeah if it was positive it would pop for like a lightest purple
11:50it's not positive right no we'd have a different conversation then
11:58i can't tell you why you were inspected i never got but keep in mind that if you're coming in
12:05to the
12:05u.s you're subject to uh inspection every passenger it doesn't matter if you're a green card holder or
12:10u.s citizen like yourself uh or visa all right you're all set sir thank you man thank you chinese
12:20u.s culture has a long tradition of making tea from medicinal mushrooms
12:26fungi such as reishi and cordyceps are prized for their earthy flavors and health-giving properties
12:34china is known for a lot of teas i did a test no mismatch all regular the guy was a
12:41little bit
12:41annoyed being inspected that is kind of a normal thing between u.s citizens
12:47people don't like to be pulled out or be extra inspected and they get fishy when we they ask us
12:54why are they being inspected but we can only tell them that they're subject to inspection
13:00you too have a good one bye
13:25if you're on the facial recognition you just need your lovely face and your face will mark you on board
13:32did you guys purchase or acquire anything on this trip that you're bringing back with
13:35the other day any like handbags jewelry anything like that
13:40by law all commercial purchases made abroad must be declared and the required import duty paid
13:47all righty use your guys's passports back you guys are all set
13:52at cbp checkpoints and baggage claim officers are spot-checking passengers just off a flight from
13:59rome italy something i'm never going to use i don't think so
14:05officer renault has stopped the owner of a bridal dress store who's returning from a buying trip
14:12one hundred percent french cotton lace handcrafted in italy do you have them a silver for these ma'am
14:18no i don't at an earlier checkpoint she failed to declare five wedding dresses to officers
14:25this is not what we sell it explains it's because they're samples gifted to her by an italian supplier
14:34are they labeled as samples no it all needs to be declared as custom
14:40yeah but even if i didn't pay for it it's for your business regardless of whether you're selling it or
14:47using it as a sample and how you do that you let the officer up front know or you let
14:51me know when i
14:51stop you but she didn't let me know listen i'm in business since 96 okay we sell dresses after 30
15:00000 that's okay because we do everything custom made by constant i get it yeah so it's a totally
15:08different scenario so for customs purposes you have to declare it as a commercial sample i declare
15:13everything i'm a very honest person pressed to put a value on them she estimates each dress to be worth
15:20just 50 dollars she's just going to kind of modify and play with them a little bit but for our
15:26purposes it is being brought in as commercial goods she did not declare the the dresses to me
15:31she placed the value of these dresses at 250 in total these are handmade italian dresses wedding
15:37dresses they would not be worth 50 dollars i imagine they would be far more than that in italy and
15:44they are certainly worth more here since the samples have no retail value for her the woman says she
15:51has made an honest mistake which could end up costing her dearly listen to me i'm explaining this to you
15:58from a custom standpoint everything has value and when you're bringing commercial items if you don't
16:03declare them is subject to seizure a combination of ketamine with mdma in newark officers have intercepted
16:26three packages of party drugs from europe we're just killing it so far they estimate the seizure to
16:35be worth roughly 45 000 on the black market but the search takes a new direction as officers intercept
16:45another shipment this time from turkey this is something else possibly this could be testosterone
16:54non-regulated we're going to have our officer test this to see what it really is
17:03what we have here this is the anabol a steroid used for muscle growth so schedule three drug
17:12dianabol is a prescription only anabolic steroid widely used for enhancing muscle physique and athletic
17:19performance i'm going to crack the pill just because usually hills they come with a little film
17:28and the film will prevent us from getting the correct reading shining a red beam which is your laser
17:35and the material okay no match found so we got no match on the dianabol but that will call for
17:44further
17:45testing the inconclusive reading suggests the pills don't contain what they claim
17:51the fake pharmaceutical industry is one of the most profitable on the black market estimated to be worth
17:58up to an annual 200 billion dollars due to its lax counterfeit laws turkey is a major source country
18:08a lot of this stuff's not regulated for the young men that want to get super muscular they have really
18:13no idea what they're really ingesting after four hours and 50 packages searched hundreds of pills and
18:22controlled medication are seized all worth close to 50 000 dollars maybe a small amount but at the end of
18:30the day we've saved a few lives what is the 18 the seizure will be passed to homeland security investigations
18:41as evidence who will work with european law enforcement to track down the labs behind the shipment
18:49for officer oliveville today marks yet another high point in a long-running dedicated career
18:57well i don't want to say that i'm a legend but i try my very best to identify whatever comes
19:02across my
19:02table right now i'm getting ready to retire but uh every day that i am here i'm going to do
19:08my best
19:09to try to stop as much contraband as i can because i love my country and uh you know i
19:15just want to make
19:16sure that these drugs don't get into uh the hands of children
19:40but this is not the full resale it's commercial you did not declare it
19:45in secondary a bridal store owner has failed to declare five sample dresses
19:52gifted to her by an italian supplier i'm a very honest person so this is not for resale
19:59but it is commercial no it's not since she has no plans to sell them she believes they have no
20:08commercial value i'm a customs officer i've been doing this for a lot of years okay and i will tell
20:14you 100 it is commercial from a customs perspective it is commercial it's more business okay i respect
20:21you but to me commercial means that i have a client that i can put this dress on look at
20:27this dress is
20:28this big it does not treat anybody i'm not going to try it on i'm just saying i don't know
20:34i don't know
20:35that for customs purposes you have to declare it you have to declare it with the proper value okay
20:41when asked she estimated the dresses to be worth around 50 each officer reynaud disagrees
20:50if customs disputes the value which in this case i do i mean 250 is way too low for what's
20:55here
20:55i don't mean these are handmade dresses in italy i know they're not resellable i know you're not
20:59planning on selling them but clearly they're worth more than 250 dollars and they're commercial okay
21:05they are considered commercial for customs purposes because you are bringing them in
21:08for business use even though the woman has made a genuine mistake on this occasion officer reynaud
21:16won't be saying i do how are we gonna do this it's got to get looked at by our import
21:21specialist
21:22they'll determine what the actual value of these items are and then they'll they'll assess any tariffs
21:26any any duties that are owed okay you will owe duties on these items all five dresses are seized
21:33they don't need to fit in there nobody's going without a wedding dress right i don't want to
21:39ruin anyone's wedding so we're going to put it in uh into a bonded warehouse with the airline
21:45and our customs import specialist can take a look at it and they'll determine what the value is for
21:49these items and then they'll uh they'll assess any tariffs any duties that are owed on those items
21:54and then she'll be able to get them back do you have any questions at all ma'am no okay
21:58all right
21:59thank you very much sure sure can we do that all right thank you again this gentleman's gonna get
22:04you on to okay on to your final destination all right have a good day
22:08thank you
22:3128% of all illicit drugs seized in the U.S. are at airports.
22:38What you got here?
22:39Uh, climbing harness.
22:41Okay. You rock will climb?
22:42Yeah.
22:43All right. Do you have any chalk in here?
22:45Yeah.
22:45All right.
22:47This doesn't look like the same consistency as, like, cocaine.
22:49But with that being said, it gets broken up with so many things.
22:53In order to catch smugglers, Customs and Border Protection regularly carries out specialized operations, known as 100% checks.
23:06I know, I know. I missed you, too.
23:10At JFK, Officer Sanjerjo and K-9 Magnus are heading out to Runway 22 Left, where a flight from the
23:19Dominican Republic has just touched down.
23:23The Dominican Republic happens to be a hub for narcotics to transfer through.
23:29We try to hit those flights, hoping that we come up on something.
23:34A 100% check is when a plane, its passengers, and even its crew are inspected without prior warning.
23:42Once they put the chocs on, we'll get out.
23:46We like to watch the airline workers and see, you know, make sure that they're not hiding a bag or
23:53concealing a bag.
23:54We want to make sure that all bases are covered.
23:58On board the now-empty A320, the search begins.
24:29Magnus is trained to detect the scent of weapons.
24:32Cash, cash, and narcotics, even if they're no longer on board.
24:39Good job.
24:41His nose is so good that I could skip a couple rows, and even if there's something in the seat,
24:47he will alert, and he'll take me there.
24:50We have the AC on right now, so if there was anything, the wind could possibly move the odor.
24:56I have to trust my dog and follow him.
25:01Good job.
25:03We're going to go inside the belly, so that's going to be the next part.
25:09Below the passenger deck, aircraft search technician Officer Cambry enters the cargo hold.
25:17Okay.
25:19Within this area here, they actually hide a lot of contraband, narcotics, and weapons.
25:26We're going to scan some of the panels to see what's within the voids.
25:29There's a lot of voids in this aircraft here in this area, and if I do see anomaly, then I'll
25:34open it up, and then from there we'll do further inspection.
25:37Previous searches of aircraft cargo holds have revealed narcotics stashed by ground crews, being bribed by the cartels.
25:46This is this area that I just scanned.
25:48That's where you get the panel separation and the screws goes.
25:59I see a small anomaly here.
26:03I'm going to open the area just to inspect it, because it does look like a little unusual to see
26:07that.
26:08So I'm going to check it out and see what's in there.
26:13The hatch stores gases used to inflate emergency evacuation systems
26:18in an area only accessible to flight crews.
26:23Okay.
26:24It's part of the insulation back here.
26:27This is what the insulation looks like.
26:29Sometimes you have a piece that's actually full with the x-ray.
26:32You will see it as a heavier mass.
26:34So that's where I saw the piece of insulation actually just stuck over here.
26:37So I can see that.
26:38So it's negative for any narcotics.
26:42So far, the hold appears clean.
26:45Good boy.
26:46Good job, Magnus.
26:50But up on the passenger deck.
26:54Up.
26:56Hey.
26:58Magnus.
27:04Magnus picks up a scent.
27:07Magnus picks up a scent.
27:14Magnus picks up a scent.
27:18Magnus picks up a scent.
27:18It's alerting over here.
27:21On the corner here.
27:25Like he took a big inhale.
27:29He's going crazy.
27:31I'm going to call one of you guys.
27:32There might be something there.
28:04Check of an A320 from the Dominican Republic, a known transit point for smuggled contraband.
28:11He's going crazy. I'm going to call one of you guys. There might be something there.
28:16Canine Magnus has picked up a suspicious scent on the passenger deck.
28:21Hey, Air Startup, I was on one of the flights and I wanted one of you guys to check something
28:27out for me.
28:29There could possibly be something there.
28:31This aircraft might have been used for transporting of narcotics.
28:37It could possibly be the AC is on, so odor kind of travels.
28:42And sometimes the dog can pick up on the odor, but because of the circulation, he can't really pinpoint where
28:51it is.
28:52So it's up to us to kind of step in and use our tools.
28:59Aircraft search mechanics arrive to investigate.
29:07There's something there that, like an odor that he's trained to detect, he would kind of give off this behavior.
29:15So that's why I'm a little bit optimistic that something might be there.
29:28Aircraft search technician, Officer Cambry, conducts a corresponding search, trying to access the area of suspicion from below.
29:38I see you, man. I'm down here.
29:42I have my partners upstairs.
30:07Aircraft search.
30:09outside and then we'll close up after a two-hour search
30:24okay this secure officers declare the plane free of contraband it's a cat and
30:32mice game so just one of those things that we have we have to do here and you
30:37know just try to get the drugs off the streets and this is part of our mission
30:41and as aircraft search of mechanics this is what we're doing here for CBP
30:48officers have a theory that Magnus was picking up on the residual odor of
30:53narcotics from a previous leg this is why Magnus could have picked it up for
30:59today Magnus's work is done the customs and border protection will continue it's
31:05100% checks and remained vigilant it was a productive day for us Magnus loves his
31:13job I love my job and we're every day motivated to find more and more drugs I
31:21would do it over and over again if I can you hear that Magnus yeah
32:02across United States airports
32:04officers carry out checks on a million travelers every day no cheese always on
32:15alert for people violating the terms of their entry visas you're married to the
32:31China on B2 tourist visas have been referred for questioning on their frequent visits to the US the wife returns
32:41home after a short visit while the
32:44husband stays behind officer Nix wants to find out what's behind the unusual travel
32:51pattern just gonna have you take a seat right here for me the pair is
33:01asked questions separately when was the last trip to the US okay who did you come with
33:09my wife and me is about two months just two months yeah two three months that's pretty big difference
33:23yes it's under the three months why did your wife leave after two weeks because my wife go back to
33:31China take care of the baby and then I keep to travel and I meet my
33:37customer so what did you do similar to their last trip to the US the wife is yet again booked
33:49on a return flight but her husband says he has plans to stay longer how come you didn't buy a
33:56ticket to go back
33:57home yet not yet I want to book tomorrow and where are you going to stay in the hotel and
34:04then rent a car to get the road trip you said you're going to rent a car and you already
34:10have a reservation for a car rental
34:11not yet I want to rent today and return today you're gonna book on a new car every day yeah
34:20yeah why not just book one for six days because the hotel parking is about
34:27$60 one day if I rent one day I is no fee for parking okay after two weeks do you
34:37have any plan of staying longer I want to go to the California mm-hmm wait
34:45just one moment I'll be right back the man's travel plans are unusually light on detail there's a lot of
34:52dependencies with the fact that he doesn't have a lot of reservations any real details for his travel or even
34:58lodging or flights to follow along with his plan there's also the fact that he admitted that he initially did
35:04not tell us his full plans which do include travel to the mainland United States after his time in Hawaii
35:12a search of his suitcase yields a surprising discovery it's weird he's got nine different bank accounts
35:20multiple credit and debit cards with US banks we are going to bring the information we have for this individual
35:27the evidence we had suggesting his various bank accounts we're going to investigate further to determine
35:33what his intent in the United States is and what his past activities work when we looked in your luggage
35:40today you have like 15 to 20 different bank cards why do you have almost 20 bank bank cards debit
35:49cards
35:50because listen once we find something that you didn't tell us about and if it's something that might cause us
35:56for concern
35:58you're not going to get an opportunity to change your story at that point
36:21in Honolulu a married couple from China is being questioned
36:26after red flags were raised by their travel plans when we looked in your luggage today you have like 15
36:33to 20
36:34different bank cards why do you have like almost 20 bank bank cards debit cards here on tourist visas the
36:44husband claims they came for vacation but the discovery of his multiple US bank accounts suggests otherwise
36:52before then I come to America I want to do the business in China they need to have the bank
37:03accounting
37:04usually an account gives you one maybe two cards you have almost 20 yes so how many different accounts oh
37:19why nine different bank accounts in the United States sometimes my friend need to transfer the US dollar to the
37:30Chinese
37:30yeah who are you transferring money for for my friend so it lives in US in China how much money
37:40have you helped transfer a total 40
37:4240,000 40,000 US dollars yeah I'm trying to understand why why was someone in the US why is
37:49she giving you
37:5040,000 dollars to transfer back to China who is this person to you he's my friend so you're just
37:57helping move money from here back to China
37:59uh yes just transfer to money okay because right now I don't think you're being fully honest
38:08so right now with the questioning he's already fairly nervous his answers are extremely varied which leads
38:14us to believe he's trying to lie about the real reason why he's transferring money for people it does
38:19have potential links to things such as money laundering or fraud do you understand the possible penalties for lying to
38:26federal officers in the United States what's the penalty maybe you can me out that's one thing yes yeah you
38:35could also go to
38:36jail for five years in the US prison okay I'm gonna have you wait and uh back in the same
38:42room until we're ready to talk to
38:44you later okay
38:47while the interview is paused another team continues to question the man's wife
38:54she makes a startling admission about their previous trip to the country
39:00his wife stated that he worked in some capacity on his last entry to the United States according to her
39:07he did receive money for some things that he did in the United States there are things suggesting to
39:12that he had an intent to also come back again on this entry potentially to do the same thing
39:18a clear violation of his b2 tourist visa means only one thing
39:26you'll be expeditiously removed on the first available flight you were barred from re-entering the
39:32United States for a period of five years from date of removal do you understand from now yeah so do
39:40you
39:40understand yeah
39:46it would give it a couple seconds
39:50all right good next because of the evidence his lack of reservations his lack of ability to truly describe what
39:56he did on the
39:57last trip he was refused entry to the United States today he is gonna be banned for five years
40:04as for the suspicions of money laundering officer Nix will turn over his findings
40:09there are further concerns we have as well but those we're going to address with probably another agency to
40:16process but possible further actions against him in the future the couple will be put on the first flight
40:23departing for China whenever we are able to refuse entry to people who are coming for
40:31derogatory reasons whether that's again terrorism or fraud or illegal activities criminal activities
40:38it always gives me a great feeling to go home and knowing that I actually helped protect our country
40:42and at the end of the day fulfilled you know my job my my duty to protect our country
41:02you
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