- 3 weeks ago
Scam City S02E02 Mexico-Mexico City
Category
🦄
CreativityTranscript
00:00They're the world's greatest cities, famous for their culture and beauty.
00:06But there's something else waiting in the shadows.
00:09The scammers, the hustlers, the thieves, and they're all looking for tourists to con.
00:16State against the what? Russian roulette. Are you joking me?
00:19I'm Connor Woodman, and in Scam City, I set myself up as bait.
00:24This is like being kidnapped.
00:26A willing victim to be fleeced.
00:28I'll catch the scammers in the act.
00:30You know where my wallet is.
00:32I know, yeah.
00:32And reveal the tricks of the trade.
00:34Sorry, I'm not talking about that.
00:35Because why? It's too dangerous?
00:37And I'll expose them face to face.
00:40We are filming you scamming me.
00:42Scam City.
00:43I get scammed, so you don't have to.
00:58I'm in Mexico City on the hunt for scams, but I've stumbled onto something far more sinister.
01:18I'm on a one-way trip to Mexico City's infamous Kidnap Express.
01:23Something funny is going on there.
01:25Leave us now.
01:26Let us out.
01:40Just arrived in Mexico City.
01:42I'm at the airport.
01:42I'm going to get a taxi.
01:44You'll be very careful about taxis in this city, because they're associated with extortion,
01:48kidnapping, all kinds of heavy stuff.
01:52Everywhere I've travelled to, I've seen taxi scams at work.
01:56But here, I've been told it's not just tourist cash on the line.
02:00It could be their lives.
02:09Time to go undercover and find out.
02:14Hola.
02:15Hola.
02:15Buenas noches.
02:16Buenas noches.
02:17I need a taxi for La Roma.
02:23303 pesos.
02:24303 pesos.
02:27And where do I go?
02:28Just follow this guy.
02:29Okay.
02:31I have one already.
02:34How much do you charge for a Roma?
02:38200?
02:40Oh.
02:41Okay.
02:42La Roma?
02:46205.
02:47205.
02:48200.
02:48I paid 303.
02:52So I just paid 303.
02:55Those guys are only 200.
02:59So an extra 100 pesos.
03:05Buenas noches.
03:06Buenas noches.
03:08It's a bus.
03:10It's not what I was hoping for.
03:25What's your name, my friend?
03:28Daniel Casas.
03:29So, Daniel, explain to me, how come I pay 300?
03:34300.
03:35Servicio ejecutivo.
03:37But all the others were 200.
03:41200?
03:41Yeah, the other guys there were 200.
03:44Why?
03:45Carro pequeño.
03:46So I got a big bus.
03:48I didn't ask for a big bus.
03:49I don't need a big bus.
03:51I'm on my own.
04:03How many vans are we talking about in a day?
04:05Well, we have an average of between 7 and 8 services per day.
04:107 or 8.
04:11So it's only really a $10 scam, but 7 or 8 every day, that's 70 or 80 extra bucks every
04:19day.
04:21An extra 500 bucks a week.
04:23It starts to add up a bit, doesn't it?
04:26What other kind of tricks are there that taxi drivers here in Mexico have to make a bit of extra
04:31cash?
04:40How difficult would it be for me to find one of those taxi drivers?
04:45And what do you think would happen to me if I did?
04:55Or the other is that they take you off your things.
04:59And if you put resistance, you're even going to kill you.
05:04I'll just kill you.
05:18Well, okay.
05:20I got scammed for $8 by my new friend Daniel, but from what he's saying,
05:24it could have been a lot worse.
05:26A lot worse.
05:32But is he right?
05:34Can it really be true?
05:36And how can I crack this scam without getting into serious danger?
05:50With over 12 million tourists a year, Mexico City is a major destination.
05:56There's ample opportunity for local hustlers to make money out of visitors.
06:04And I'm going to find out how they do it.
06:09I'm off to a market to find scams.
06:14Time to slip into something more comfortable.
06:26It's not long before we spot one of the oldest scams in the book,
06:29a variation on the three-card Monty.
06:33It looks easy.
06:35You just have to choose where the ball ends up.
06:37But the game is rigged, with a member of the gang apparently winning,
06:41to encourage an impressionable punter to place a bet.
06:45That's about $16.
06:48They then move the cup so slowly that you're bound to make the right choice.
06:55I place my bet.
06:56I choose my cup.
06:58It's in the end one, aren't you?
07:00And win.
07:01They then encourage me.
07:03$500.
07:04That's almost $42.
07:08Now the cups are moved around at real pace,
07:11and what seemed easy first time round becomes impossible.
07:18Surprise, surprise.
07:19I lose.
07:22Suddenly, the gang move, blocking our cameras.
07:28The woman who encouraged me to bet makes a signal.
07:35And it's game over.
07:37We've been rumbled.
07:39They know we're on to them.
07:41And everyone leaves.
07:50Ten minutes later, the gang have set up the game again.
07:54It's all the same people betting.
07:56Look, look.
07:58Can I play?
07:59I can't play, no?
08:05They're kind of blocking us out.
08:08See the ball.
08:09I can't play.
08:09That's it.
08:11My cover is completely blown.
08:14Things are getting tense.
08:15My only option is to try and confront them.
08:21Just show us it, how they do it.
08:25I don't want, just to show me.
08:27Just to show me.
08:28Just to show me.
08:29Just to show me.
08:31Can't see?
08:32Just me.
08:35What about just me?
08:36Just me?
08:37No, no, no.
08:39No, no, no, no.
08:40No, no, no.
08:40Let me work, please.
08:43No, no.
08:48Okay, I think it's time to get out of here.
08:50I mean, what they were playing there was Cups and Peas.
08:52It's a variation on the classic free card Monty game.
08:54What I love about that scam is that it requires a whole team of people to play it.
08:58And they look like they're betting, which draws you in.
09:00You think you can win as well.
09:02But as well as that, they're spotting other people.
09:04And they spotted us and our cameras straight away.
09:07And then they said, you know what, guys?
09:09You've got your job to do, but we've got our job to do.
09:11Kindly leave.
09:13Got to respect that.
09:22The scam that brought me to Mexico City is express kidnapping, carried out by bogus taxi drivers.
09:37But investigating it is risky.
09:40The obvious way is to hail a street cab and chance it.
09:48Oh, this is you.
09:52Okay.
09:52This is I am Manuel Betanzos.
09:54Okay.
09:55You're not going to kidnap me?
09:56No, no.
09:57Not this time.
09:58It's taxi, it's taxi seguro.
10:00I don't know much of this.
10:01I'm going to call you 100 pesos.
10:02I'll give you one ticket.
10:04Okay?
10:04100 pesos seems very expensive.
10:06The normal price is only maybe 30 pesos.
10:10100 pesos.
10:11I'll give you a ticket.
10:11It's taxi seguro.
10:12So, so, hang on.
10:14So, hang on.
10:15So, because you told me you were going to rip me off, it's okay, is it?
10:19No, it's carous servicio.
10:20In a taxi sector.
10:22It's safe.
10:29I'll pay the tariff, but I just think it's funny that you tell me that I have two choices.
10:34I can either be robbed or I can be ripped off.
10:37Is that it?
10:37They're my two choices?
10:41Okay, well, thank you for, uh, only ripping me off and not robbing me.
10:49Adios.
10:56Unbelievable.
10:59Well, he wasn't very happy, and the fact that he wasn't going to rob me meant that he was well
11:03within his rights to rip me off.
11:04So, they were my two choices.
11:06Either I got robbed or I got ripped off.
11:11So, some legitimate taxi drivers are playing on people's fears of being kidnapped by charging extra just because they're safe.
11:21And although I want to meet the drivers who kidnap their passengers, I don't know how far I have to
11:26go to do that.
11:28But I do know these guys are out there, and they may be just one cab ride away.
11:49While I'm in Mexico City, I can't resist checking out some of the biggest tourist attractions in town.
11:55The ruined city of Teotihuacan.
12:022,000 years ago, human and animal sacrifices were offered to various deities here.
12:11When the Aztecs arrived in the 14th century, they called it the City of the Gods.
12:23But I'm here because where there's tourists, there's scams.
12:32I'm soon approached by a friendly-looking man selling souvenirs.
12:39Made in Mexico.
12:41Made by me.
12:42Made by you.
12:43Yeah.
12:43You make it yourself.
12:44Yes.
12:45You see my fingers.
12:46Oh.
12:47This is mother pearl, venturina, and obsidian, gold obsidian.
12:51Oh.
12:51We're from England?
12:52Yeah, London.
12:53What about older ones?
12:55I have older ones.
12:56Yeah?
12:57Yes.
12:58You can get those?
12:59Yes.
13:01I'd be interested to see some of those, maybe.
13:04Yeah.
13:09So what is this?
13:17How old do you think this is?
13:192,000 years, more or less.
13:202,000 years old?
13:21Yes.
13:23We found in the field over there.
13:25Yeah.
13:27And how much do you want this for this?
13:29It was for you 1,500 pesos.
13:311,500 pesos?
13:32Yes.
13:33So about $120.
13:35More or less.
13:36But this is genuine.
13:37These are not imitations, you know.
13:41Not an imitation?
13:42No.
13:43Come on.
13:44Huh?
13:46Oh, you have more.
13:48You think 1,500 pesos.
13:51About $120, $125.
13:54So where did you really get these from?
13:57Come on.
13:58You can tell me.
13:59Yes.
13:59I tell you.
14:00Behind.
14:01You dug them out of the ground?
14:02Yes.
14:02You didn't make these?
14:03No.
14:03I make those.
14:05You didn't make these and make them look a bit older?
14:07No.
14:08Come on.
14:08Come on.
14:09It's okay.
14:09You can tell me.
14:10I don't think these are real.
14:12Okay.
14:13This is real.
14:14Yeah.
14:14But I can take this to the UK, no problem?
14:16No problem.
14:17You can take it.
14:17Why?
14:18Because they won't find them?
14:19Or because?
14:19No.
14:20Because they're not having a problem to take, you know.
14:23Because they're...
14:24So you can take these out, no problem?
14:25Yeah.
14:27Yeah.
14:27Because you're not supposed to buy original pieces and take them out of Mexico.
14:31You have a problem, I tell you, if you buy big pieces.
14:34No, but any pieces is against them.
14:36If this is a genuine...
14:37This is genuine.
14:38This is a genuine 2,000-year-old piece,
14:40then I should not take it out of Mexico.
14:42It's against the law.
14:43We sell many things here.
14:46So how much money do you make out of this compared with this?
14:48Oh, much.
14:49Yeah?
14:50So this is the real business in the bag?
14:52Yes.
14:52It's like a black market.
14:54Mm-hmm.
14:55Yeah.
14:56Like a black market.
14:58What's your name?
14:59Martin.
15:00Martin.
15:00Connor.
15:01Connor.
15:02Connor.
15:04I tell Martin I'm interested in buying,
15:06but he's not happy meeting in the main site.
15:13You want to move to the parking lot, no?
15:18I know these are fakes,
15:20but can I get Martin to admit it?
15:22Well, I am interested in kind of the kind of scams
15:26that tourists fall prey to,
15:28like buying fake artifacts
15:30is obviously a big problem here for tourists in Mexico.
15:35It's true.
15:36You're security, no?
15:37No, we're not security.
15:38We're not police.
15:39No problem.
15:39No, no, no.
15:40Like I said,
15:40we're interested in the things for the tourists,
15:42the problems for tourists.
15:44That's all.
15:44See, I don't know.
15:45I don't know if this is a scam
15:48or if I can believe you.
15:49I don't know you.
15:50It's quite a big risk
15:51that if you're a tourist buying this kind of thing
15:54that you're being, you know, scammed.
15:56You're paying money for stuff that's not genuine.
15:58Do you know what I mean?
16:00Sometimes.
16:01Yeah.
16:01It's a big risk, you know?
16:04So, come on,
16:05tell me the truth about the pieces.
16:06Which pieces are fake?
16:08The clay.
16:09The clay mouth fake.
16:10No, fake.
16:11Over there is smaller pieces,
16:14but the clay.
16:15And she's grounded.
16:17Ground the old clay.
16:18The old clay.
16:19Make a new piece with the old clay
16:20so it looks like the old piece.
16:23Wow.
16:23Old looking clay one
16:25is a new one,
16:26but you make it look old?
16:28Yes.
16:28So, that's the trick.
16:29You're not worried about
16:30getting in trouble with the customs?
16:32What I buy.
16:33This is a imitation.
16:35If you get stopped at customs,
16:36you just say,
16:36oh, this is an imitation.
16:37That's a imitation.
16:38You tell me.
16:39You scam them.
16:41Yeah.
16:49I'm delighted that I got him to talk about
16:51what's a really clever scam.
16:52What I love about it
16:53is that he gets you to buy an artefact
16:55that even though you know it's illegal,
16:57which means you're not going to report it,
16:59and even if you got caught,
17:00well, he's not in trouble
17:02because it's a fake.
17:11To meet a taxi-driving kidnapper
17:13and survive,
17:15I need to find some protection.
17:21So when in Mexico,
17:23do as the locals do,
17:25see a shaman.
17:33I've come to Sonora Market
17:35for that extra bit of help.
17:41There's a long tradition of witchcraft
17:43and black magic here in Mexico,
17:44so I've arranged to see a shaman,
17:46see if she can offer me some protection
17:47from some of the dark forces at work here.
18:00But first,
18:01I want to find out
18:01what sort of spells she has.
18:03I'm curious to know
18:04how dark her magic is
18:06and how far she's prepared to go.
18:09So what kind of stuff
18:10could you do
18:11when you did black magic?
18:14Death.
18:17I mean,
18:18did you ever put a spell
18:18on someone
18:19and then they died?
18:42So you did a whole funeral for him
18:43and then afterwards,
18:44and you said,
18:45right,
18:45you're going to die next Tuesday,
18:47and next Tuesday,
18:48he dropped down dead.
18:49Yeah?
18:52Really?
18:54Let me tell you
18:55my main quest
18:56here in Mexico City.
18:58I want to find
18:59the people in Mexico
19:00who kidnap people,
19:02but I don't want them
19:03to hurt me.
19:05Do you think you can help me?
19:09With that,
19:09she starts her ritual.
19:21The diagnosis
19:22and treatment
19:23for my protection
19:24is a new one on me.
19:42How is this going to help me?
19:55How much is it going to cost?
19:59Wow.
20:00And how much
20:01is just this consultation now?
20:03100 pesos.
20:04100 pesos.
20:05So it becomes a lot
20:06if I have the treatments.
20:07Sounds like a lot of money
20:08to me,
20:094,500 pesos.
20:11But how much would a good,
20:12a good client
20:12could spend how much
20:13in a year?
20:15Hasta 40,000.
20:16$4,000 in a year
20:18for your spiritual protection
20:20on their lives.
20:22Wow.
20:23That's good business.
20:26I pay the 100 pesos
20:27for the consultation,
20:28but pass on
20:30the spiritual cleansing.
20:31I think I might need
20:32more than cigars
20:33and branches
20:34to protect me.
20:35You're going to have
20:36a card for later.
20:39But for shamans,
20:41it's good business
20:42when tourists
20:43and locals
20:43are prepared
20:44to pay hand over fist
20:45to back their
20:46spiritual beliefs.
20:54I'm here to track down
20:55taxi kidnappers,
20:56but in my spare time,
20:58I can't resist
20:59seeing whether Mexico City
21:00has its fair share
21:02of pickpockets.
21:05I'm heading into
21:06the tourist area
21:07at Ciudadela
21:07where there's a big market
21:08on a square
21:09that's notorious
21:10for pickpockets.
21:11I'm going to see
21:11if I can attract
21:12one of them
21:12by making a classic mistake
21:14of leaving my wallet
21:15in an open bag.
21:36Whether I just got lucky
21:38or because it isn't busy
21:39around the stalls,
21:40my wallet and I
21:41are not parted.
21:43The lack of crowd
21:44may be because
21:45there's something
21:46else going on.
21:59Hermano.
22:01Hey,
22:01hello.
22:03Hey,
22:04love the hat.
22:06No, it's okay.
22:15I think I should do it
22:17up like this.
22:17Ah, güey.
22:19It's bueno.
22:23Conor.
22:24And you?
22:27Tirantes.
22:29King of Tepito.
22:43Sounds like the kind
22:44of place a kidnapper
22:45might live.
22:46Maybe he can help
22:47me find one.
22:55Who is this guy?
23:17And then a horrible
23:19realisation dawns on me.
23:21I'm going to have to dance.
23:39Just before I leave,
23:41Tirantes gives me one last tip.
23:55Thank you, my man.
24:01Worshipping death
24:02sounds surreal.
24:03But here in this square,
24:05as evening falls,
24:06it makes sense.
24:11Feeling slightly uneasy,
24:13I hail a cab.
24:24I just made a friend here.
24:26He's telling me about Tepito.
24:29Yeah,
24:29what kind of district is it?
24:31No,
24:32it's heavy.
24:33It's heavy.
24:34It's heavy.
24:35It's heavy.
24:35It's heavy.
24:38It's heavy.
24:38What kind of people
24:39live there?
24:49It's drugs and guns
24:50and that kind of thing.
24:55I heard some stories
24:56as well about
24:57some of the taxi drivers
24:59in Mexico City
25:02being into
25:04some pretty heavy stuff
25:05like kidnapping
25:06and that kind of thing.
25:07SÃ.
25:08SÃ, eh.
25:09Hay choferes que trabajan el carro.
25:10Te alquilo el carro,
25:11pues no sabes luego
25:12ni a quién se lo das a trabajar.
25:14Se lo puedes dar
25:14un secuestrador y todo
25:15y anda metido en mafias
25:17de secuestradores
25:19y utilizan mucho el taxi
25:21para rápido los secuestros express.
25:23Where would I most likely
25:24meet the people
25:25involved in that kind of stuff?
25:26Hay mucha gente
25:27que se diga que eso
25:28pero de colonias
25:28de Pito.
25:35Although the last taxi driver
25:37explained more
25:38about express kidnappings,
25:39I haven't come any closer
25:41to the kidnappers themselves.
25:43But at least now
25:44I have an idea
25:45of where to look.
26:05This is Pito,
26:07the most infamous
26:08neighbourhood
26:09in the whole of Mexico City.
26:16It's where the taxi driver
26:18said that some
26:19of the kidnappers
26:20come from.
26:27I'm looking for the shrine
26:29of Santa Muerte,
26:30Holy Death,
26:32whose worshippers
26:33are said to include criminals
26:34and hopefully
26:36a few taxi kidnappers.
27:05Hola.
27:05Hola, buenas tardes.
27:09Ustedes no son de aquÃ.
27:10No, no, I've come from London, but I heard about the Santa Muerte shrine, I wanted to see it for
27:17myself.
27:23It's just for a Mexican thing?
27:34So it's a bit like the Grim Reaper then, with the scythe, come and cut your head off.
27:39No, no, no, that's a pendejism of all of you, a real pendejism.
27:44She doesn't cut any head off.
27:46This garden is to cut everything we have in our paths, but in life, in life.
27:54Right now that I'm alive, to take care of me, to clean my path, right now.
27:57I've already been dead, I've already danced.
27:59Okay, and what kind of people then come and pray to her?
28:03It can be criminals, drug addicts, prostitutes.
28:06Ella no hace a nadie menos.
28:10Ella, ella recibe a todos, a todos.
28:13Y venimos a pedirle que nos ayude, que nos abra los caminos, que nos cuide, que nos acompañe, que nos
28:19de un rayito de luz.
28:21Do you think Santamuerte could give me a blessing to keep me safe while I'm here?
28:25Dile a ella.
28:28Te vine a conocer.
28:30Yo no te prometo nada.
28:32CuÃdame y acompáñame.
28:36Es todo tuyo el altar.
28:39Muchas gracias.
28:43Ay, te lo encargo, mi vida.
28:45CuÃdalos, acompáñalos, pero no nada más a él, a todos, a todos acompáñalos.
28:51Te dejo tantito.
28:59In what kind of neighbourhood do people worship holy death?
29:04Whose hope for the future is symbolised by a female skeleton wielding a scythe?
29:11Just then, I notice a tough-looking character at my side.
29:15Do you not live here?
29:16I don't live here, no.
29:18Where are you from?
29:19From London.
29:20Ah, here.
29:20Do you think it's safe for me to walk around here?
29:25Yeah.
29:25Maybe you have problems with some people.
29:30I don't know.
29:31What kind of problems?
29:32Mucha gente peligrosa aquÃ, so necesitas tener cuidado.
29:40Could you help show me around, maybe?
29:43Yeah, yeah, yeah.
29:46Maybe I think company, you want to cruise around or something?
29:52I'd love to, yeah.
29:53Sorry, I'm Connor.
29:55I am Jaime.
29:56Jaime.
29:56Okay.
30:05I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but Jaime has agreed to show me round his neighbourhood.
30:11He tells us to hide our cameras.
30:14And then we take a walk into the heart of Tapito.
30:22This is a dangerous street.
30:24It's a dangerous street?
30:25Why is it dangerous?
30:27What kind of things?
30:28Because, uh, you buy drugs.
30:32Robards.
30:33Robbers?
30:34Uh-huh.
30:37What do you think would happen to me if I walked here on my own?
30:41Uh...
30:41How long do you think I'd last?
30:43Five minutes?
30:44Yeah, in five minutes you lose everything.
30:48Come here.
30:55Richard.
30:57Colonel.
30:58Yeah?
30:59There you go.
31:00Colonel.
31:02I start to realize that Jaime is a well-known face around here.
31:08Hola.
31:09You know everybody?
31:11Yeah, more or less.
31:14Yes.
31:14And he knows the rules.
31:18When you walk here, somebody looking.
31:21Hey, give me your money or your funds or something.
31:28Wait, I'm not naive.
31:30This is where it works.
31:31Does that happen a lot to Tapito?
31:33Yeah.
31:33Yeah.
31:34Very quickly, our presence is noticed.
31:37Come with my friends.
31:38Do you know?
31:39Yes.
31:40Where are you from?
31:42Where are you from?
31:43Where are you from?
31:44Where are you from?
31:44Where are you from?
31:45Where are you from?
31:46Where are you from?
31:46Ah, from London.
31:48And it's clear that without Jaime explaining that we're his friends, we'd be in big trouble.
31:58Is it just robbing?
32:00Is it drugs?
32:02Is it drugs?
32:03Clones of production.
32:06Oh, counterfeit?
32:07Yeah.
32:08Oh, okay, right.
32:10Everything.
32:11Everything.
32:11All of it.
32:13The counterfeit scam is one I've seen before.
32:16In this market, there's a mix of legitimate and knocked off goods and massive amounts of fake ones.
32:25That's not.
32:27That's not the right smell.
32:28Mm-mm.
32:29I know this is a very well-known perfume, very famous perfume.
32:35It's not the right smell.
32:37Maybe this one is counterfeit.
32:38Doesn't look, look, it doesn't look very, very right, very professional.
32:43Yeah.
32:43Where's the guy?
32:45Right.
32:54Is this, this is counterfeit, right?
32:57Maybe, yeah.
32:59Is it false?
33:00Maybe.
33:01Yeah?
33:02It's Baltimore.
33:04Who makes it?
33:05You buy it or you make it?
33:07Which one?
33:13You buy it and you make it?
33:16Where do you make it?
33:19Um...
33:20Near here?
33:20Into Peter?
33:21You make it into Peter?
33:22I can see?
33:23You can see?
33:25Yeah.
33:32There's no doubt that I'm only being allowed to see this because I'm with Jaime.
33:37Even so, it's clearly still risky.
33:40Okay.
33:41It's okay.
33:42We do it.
33:42We can do it here.
33:51Where do you get the bottle from?
33:52Yeah.
33:53It's okay.
33:54It's okay.
33:55It's okay.
33:58It's okay.
33:59It's okay.
34:00It's okay.
34:01It's okay.
34:05It's okay.
34:06If you made one with a different brand, so you did, I don't know, Calvin Klein or Carolyn
34:12Herrera, or would you put the same, the same, just in a different bottle?
34:18Yeah.
34:21And so, how much do all the little bits together cost you to buy?
34:34How many would you sell in a week?
34:42That's good money.
34:43Yes.
34:46Just as the demonstration is coming to an end, Jaime's mood suddenly changes.
35:03Jaime wants us out.
35:05He's decided the tour is over and we leave while the going is good.
35:17Jaime takes us to the edge of the neighborhood and then slips away.
35:23And without even thinking, I flagged down a passing cab.
35:36Why? How come you going to be a taxi driver?
35:42Why did you make the change?
35:45Why did you make the change?
35:53Right.
36:13I can hardly believe what I'm hearing.
36:15It's a chilling confession from a man I've paid to take me home.
36:19And there's more.
36:22And there's more.
36:31Wow.
36:32I have to take all the money to go out of the car.
36:36Because they didn't prove to me.
36:39Well, who did you give the money to?
36:41I was a licensed man.
36:44I was a licensed man.
36:45I was a $1,400,000.
36:47But now you can't go back to the market, right?
36:50No.
36:51The law passed me.
36:53I couldn't take me.
36:55What do you think would happen to you if you went back?
37:05I've been looking for a kidnapper, but I've ended up in the backseat of a killer's car.
37:11A man who says he's killed and could kill again.
37:21Okay, gracias.
37:24But I just got lucky.
37:25I've made a contact and we exchanged numbers.
37:37A couple of hours later, I get a message and another number.
37:48I've arranged to meet an undercover officer in the Mexico City Police.
37:51He's agreed to talk to me about kidnapping here, but he's asked that we keep his identity absolutely secret.
37:59Buenas noches.
38:00Buenas noches.
38:00Buenas noches.
38:04Have you had experience of the Kidnap Express, the Secuestro Express?
38:11In Mexico City?
38:21Who's behind this epidemic of Kidnapped Express in Mexico City?
38:32So you're saying that there are police officers out there kidnapping people?
38:55And so do you personally know people? Do you work with people that are involved in this activity?
39:08Have you ever kidnapped someone?
39:12No. Would you?
39:26And what advice would you give me if I wanted to meet some of the people behind the sequester express?
39:44Despite the warning, he hands me the number of a possible kidnapper who might talk.
39:53So if this cop is telling me the truth, it's a bigger problem than I thought.
39:59Many of the taxi drivers responsible for kidnapping and extorting money from tourists belong to Mexico City's police force.
40:08And it begs the question, if you can't trust the police, who can you trust?
40:19Later that evening, I've heard nothing.
40:25I'm going to take one last chance.
40:34You busy?
40:44Are we going the direct way, mate?
40:47Sure it's not?
40:48Sure it's not about that way?
40:53We're going to be taking the long way around.
40:54Yeah.
40:57If it's not one scam, it's another, isn't it?
41:00Every time you get into a taxi.
41:04Something here doesn't feel right.
41:06And then the taxi driver makes a call.
41:14Who are you talking to on the phone?
41:18You're still not going directly towards the hotel?
41:26I don't want to end up in a place that I don't want to go to, do you know what
41:29I mean?
41:30Come on, where are you taking me?
41:34Leave us now, let us out.
41:39See you.
41:44Okay, let's get out of here.
41:51I don't know whether I'm paranoid because of everything that's happened to me since I've been here,
41:56and I'm sensitized to it or what, but there was something definitely wrong.
42:00We were not going directly to the hotel.
42:04I think I'm just going to walk back to the hotel.
42:06I think that's probably the safest option.
42:11I don't know.
42:13I don't know.
42:14I don't know.
42:17I don't know.
42:18I don't know.
42:19I don't know.
42:20Shrines for worshipping death.
42:22A taxi driver who says he's a killer.
42:25And cops who are kidnappers.
42:28Maybe I'm losing my nerve.
42:36There's only one way to find out.
42:38I call again.
42:44The meeting is on, but the arrangements are on his terms.
42:49It has to be after dark and on his turf in a remote part of town.
42:58On my way to the meet, I realize I've relinquished control.
43:10I sit and wait on a deserted side street.
43:2050 minutes later, a man walks towards my car.
43:34Oh.
43:40Hey.
43:41How are you?
43:42Thanks for meeting me.
43:44Um, so, is Mexico your city?
43:48You're born here?
43:49You grew up here?
43:51Well, what kind of work did you go into?
44:04And how many people do you think you've kidnapped in your life?
44:10Um, and can you explain to me how it works?
44:15What do you actually do?
44:24What do you think?
44:26So, what do you think.
44:27You bet a lot of people are being part,
44:31and that's the personal health of one.
44:37You're right.
44:39So, if you're working outside of a person,
44:44you can see it a cat.
44:44You can see it a little bit more at the location.
44:48You can see it, it's time to see it.
44:51You can see it.
44:51So, you bring back to your car.
44:56And how would you threaten people, would you use weapons?
45:14And what's the most money you've got out of a single kidnapping?
45:24So what advice would you give to someone if they found themselves being kidnapped?
45:34Do you still have connections with the police force?
45:55And is that Santa Muerte hanging around your neck?
46:04The kidnappers were the Santa Muerte.
46:06Yes, it's protection.
46:12Yes.
46:40It's chilling, isn't it?
46:41The way he can talk about kidnapping.
46:43It's a trap, torture, extortion of people as though it's simply a business.
46:47And that's because that's exactly the way he sees it.
46:49And every time you get in a taxi in Mexico City, the danger is you'll be his next customer.
47:04I get the feeling Mexico City is a place where the more you look into the shadows, the darker they
47:09get.
47:12It's a city where you can pray to an image of death and then take a ride home with a
47:17murderer.
47:19And if you're really unlucky, you can hail a cab and a moonlighting cop will stop and kidnap you.
47:30There's no doubt why tourists come here, the colour and the characters, the culture and the history.
47:36Just be careful whose taxi you get into.
47:55And this is what I learned from the TV show.
47:56It's you know, I think we're going to let the switch because I'm the only one but never.
47:58There's nothing too much to say about it.
47:59And I'm going to let the characters get into the room.
48:00I think they're so weird.
48:02What do we do?
48:02My door is closed.