AGENT CHIEF_GONZALEZ CHIEF_OFFICER_CHAVEZ OFFICER OFFICER_CISNEROS OFFICER_COX OFFICER_LAM OFFICER_OLIVAS OFFICER_ROBLES OFFICER_TORRES SPECIAL_AGENT SPECIAL_AGENT_BOBBY SUPERVISORY_OFFICER_TERRAZAS SUPERVISORY_SPECIAL_AGENT_KEN TASK_FORCE_OFFICER_CRISTOBAL TRAVELER OFFICER [inaudible] hey, get. [inaudible] hey, get. Good boy. OFFICER This one's nothing. OFFICER Good boy. Okay. OFFICER K9 hit? OFFICER Yes, he did. OFFICER That's a good boy. That's a good dog. That's a good boy. OFFICER What do you got? OFFICER ROBLES An Italian espresso machine. The current trend is that they've been putting narcotics inside of expensive industrial machines. OFFICER Smells like fresh paint. OFFICER TORRES Yeah. The fresh paint is a big indicator that this was recently tampered with. Anything you get some that's recently been fabricated, modified, or tampered with, it's huge red flags. We're gonna cut it open, see what's in there. OFFICER ROBLES So this espresso machine is about ten-K, twelve-K, each piece. So I'm guessing that the smuggler think that we're not gonna open it up because it's so expensive. OFFICER There it is. OFFICER All right. OFFICER Go ahead and test it. OFFICER All right, there we have it. It's crystal meth. OFFICER Where's the evidence bag? OFFICER Can we get an evidence bag? OFFICER ROBLES We get a lot of crystal meth. OFFICER ROBLES They just put it in whatever, uh, compartment they want to put it in and seal it up. The reason why we're getting a lot of meth is that it's made in labs. It's easier to make, make more of it. Compared to, like, cocaine and other narcotics, you can make synthetics in any lab. It could be in your backyard, it could be in our backyard. They want to make sure there isn't any more in the containers. Any more residue that we could get out. Get a more accurate weight. OFFICER TORRES You feel good. You feel that you've done your job. And all I'm thinking is, "Okay, when's the next one?" OFFICER Documents. OFFICER [speaking Spanish] How are you? OFFICER Where are you coming from? TRAVELER [speaking Spanish] Uh, from my house. OFFICER [speaking Spanish] How much money are you bringing? TRAVELER [speaking Spanish] Uh, nothing. TRAVELER They're coming here to pick me up. OFFICER [speaking Spanish] Your reason for coming? TRAVELER [speaking Spanish] To play video games. TRAVELER At a friend's house. OFFICER [speaking Spanish] Okay then. Take care. OFFICER CISNEROS We're at the Customs and Border Protection in El Paso, Texas. OFFICER CISNEROS This particular area is the pedestrian primary. This is the initial contact with visitors from Mexico, whether they're tourists, legal, permanent residents, or United States citizens. OFFICER CISNEROS [speaking Spanish] Reason for coming to El Paso? TRAVELER [speaking Spanish] For school. OFFICER CISNEROS [speaking Spanish] What are you bringing now? TRAVELER [speaking Spanish] Just my textbooks. OFFICER CISNEROS Here at pedestrian, we're looking at body language. We're looking at their answers, their itinerary. OFFICER COX What were you doing in Ju�rez? TRAVELER A doctor's appointment. OFFICER COX What time was your appointment? TRAVELER Uh, one o'clock. OFFICER COX Okay, I see. OFFICER COX The trend here is the cartel using young people to bring in small amounts of money. OFFICER [speaking Spanish] Are you bringing any money into the U.S.? TRAVELER No. OFFICER [speaking Spanish] Nothing? OFFICER Nothing to declare? TRAVELER No. OFFICER COX What happens a lot is that smugglers over there, they could be drug related, alien smuggling related, they'll say, "Hey, we'll pay you two hundred dollars. OFFICER COX Just cross this money, give it to such-and-such over here." OFFICER COX What's happening, they're not crossing with a lot of money, because they know that above ten thousand dollars they have to fill out a form that gets sent to the I.R.S. So they think that if they bring in money below that threshold that we won't talk to them more about it, especially young kids. U.S. citizen, right? TRAVELER I'm a U.S. citizen, born in California. OFFICER COX Oh, wow. TRAVELER I gotta go back, bro. Why are you guys holding me delayed? My bus is coming soon. OFFICER COX What time's your bus? TRAVELER Man, what does the greyhound have me at? I'll meet you guys there, if you guys want to meet there. Santa Monica. OFFICER COX What time's your bus? TRAVELER Soon. I gotta. OFFICER COX Let me see the bus ticket real quick. TRAVELER You're asking for too much. You don't need to see it. I gotta go to California. I am from L.A. OFFICER COX Hey man, I'm not, I'm not trying to knock that you're a U.S. citizen TRAVELER You are. You came after me. OFFICER COX You're a U.S. citizen, dude. You're gonna come in. But. TRAVELER Thank you. So, can I come in? Oh, take a picture. OFFICER COX Not right now. Not until we're done, okay? The picture's taken. I got your information in there, okay? Are you carrying over ten thousand dollars in cash, sir? TRAVELER No, sir. OFFICER COX No. How much money do you declare? TRAVELER Uh, exactly, like, one hundred and one thousand and, like, twenty bucks. Forty bucks. OFFICER COX One thousand and twenty bucks? TRAVELER Forty bucks. OFFICER COX Forty bucks? TRAVELER Yeah. OFFICER COX What ya got, what ya crossing with that money, man? It's, uh, it's Ju�rez. TRAVELER Well, I went to buy a car, until this guy showed me that he didn't have a title, so I wasn't gonna buy it for no title. OFFICER COX You were gonna buy a car? TRAVELER Yes. OFFICER COX What kind of car were you going to buy? TRAVELER Well, it was a DeVille. OFFICER COX A DeVille? You got a picture of it? TRAVELER Uh-hmm. The Facebook DeVilles. OFFICER COX Let me see the Facebook post of the Cadillac DeVille. TRAVELER I already gave you my information. OFFICER COX Let me see the Facebook post. TRAVELER No, sir. I already gave you my information. OFFICER COX You gave me your information. And I appreciate that. I appreciate that. TRAVELER I'm a U.S. citizen. OFFICER COX But now, I just need to confirm. TRAVELER Negative. OFFICER COX I can tie you to that money. Make sure it's yours. You say you work at where? TRAVELER Jay and Cooper Sims. OFFICER COX Okay. Do you have any documentation showing that you work there? TRAVELER No, I don't gotta do that. You can set it straight with the IRS right where my money comes from. SPECIAL AGENT We're the money pickup group in Chicago for HSI. SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY The way these cartels operate is once they sell those narcotics, the hardest part, and the most important for them, is to get the-the money back down south. And Chicago's known as a hub to actually launder the money for these cartels. SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY They still have their traditional methods. Bulk cash smuggling it, putting it in a semi truck and driving it across the border. But it's fifty-fifty now where they'll still do that and then they'll also want to get their money laundered. So the cartel needs easy access to the banking systems up here in the United States. So that's where we come into play. We have access to the banking systems. AGENT U.C. said he's gonna move. AGENT So, he's gonna be mobile here. SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY The person we're gonna meet up with today contacted our undercover agent last night, because the undercover agent advised him we have that capability to get their money back down south. AGENT He's on the phone with him now. AGENT They're a 20 minute ETA to this location. SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY He has about a hundred and twenty, a hundred and fifty thousand dollars that he wants laundered. We suspect it's narcotics proceeds. We're gonna go ahead and do a money pickup operation. Collect the money and seize it from him. We're gonna see where he ends up. Try to follow him all the way to a house or a-a business. And that way we can identify different members of the organization, uh, that are operating in the Chicago area. AGENT I got eyes on our target. AGENT All right, we're rolling. SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY The target's at a, a mall close by. We're gonna go ahead and set up the deal for him to meet with our undercover. We're gonna head over to that area right now. Hey, Chris. Just go over the safety signals for the U.C. AGENT Yeah, "Hands up. Help, help, help." SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY A lot of these drug trafficking organizations and members, they carry hundreds of thousands of dollars with them and they're dropping it off to a random person they don't know. So a lot of the time they'll have a weapon on them, so safety is extremely important while we're out there on the street. AGENT All right, he's on the phone with the target. AGENT We're going to move here in about one minute. SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY Where are you going to have him park? AGENT The U.C. is going to the laundromat. SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY The laundromat? AGENT Yeah, confirmed. AGENT It's dead over there right now. AGENT There's only, like, one car in the parking lot. AGENT He's comfortable, we just have to find some eyes. SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY No, we won't be able. That place is just bad, man. AGENT The target does not want to move from that address. SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY He might like it, but we don't have anyone there. Safety-wise, that laundromat is not good. [COMMERCIAL BREAK] SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY We gotta figure out a spot. AGENT And I guarantee, if that's where he has it. AGENT He's gonna have someone watching him. SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY We just got an update from our undercover, he got in contact with the-the target who's gonna drop off the money. SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY Um, they gave a location down here on the south side. AGENT U.C. likes the laundromat. AGENT I'm not a huge fan of it, but it's the U.C.'s call really. AGENT Because he's comfortable. AGENT We're just gonna have to find some eyes. AGENT Right next to the laundromat, just south of it. AGENT The next parking lot south, that's a little bit better. SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY I'm gonna try to set up in that area. I'll try to go over here across the street. We don't want to go over and approach him and let him know that law enforcement's looking at him. So we're just gonna stick to the game plan. AGENT U.C. is gonna be in a dark gray car. SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY So that's our truck. AGENT U.C.'s already in place, bro. I think we're solid. SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY The parking lot we're looking at right now, that's where the undercover's gonna meet with the drug trafficker. And he's gonna hand him off the bag of cash. The main reason we want to seize this money is that's where it hurts the most. The cartel needs that money to be laundered back down south. That's how they're gonna buy all their vehicles, pay all their employees. We seize the money from the cartels and they won't have the means to actually buy and provide for their organization. AGENT We have a vehicle pulling in now. SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY Oh, there he is. AGENT A large SUV, four-door. AGENT He's pulling right next to the U.C.V. AGENT All right, driver's side door is open. AGENT He's pulling out some type of package. AGENT I think this is it. AGENT Location is hot. AGENT Target is out. AGENT He's walking. AGENT He's getting into the passenger side of the U.C.V. AGENT All right, I think he's walking back now. SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY The target handed the bag over to the undercover inside his vehicle and he got back into the, the silver vehicle that he initially arrived in. AGENT Our target vehicle is now on the move again. SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY We have possession of the money and we have surveillance units following the drug trafficker over the next few days to try to I.D. where he lives, stash houses, other potential drug trafficking members or associates that he works with. And either get him to cooperate or if he doesn't want to, he'll be arrested at that time. Now we're heading to meet up with the team who has the cash. We have a K-nine on standby. Hopefully, he will confirm the presence of narcotics on the money. And that will just further validate that it, uh, came from drug trafficking proceeds. TRAVELER Sir, I am a U.S. citizen. OFFICER COX So you got, you got nothing showing that that money belongs to you? TRAVELER It's in my hands. TRAVELER Bro, you're wasting my time, bro. I wanna go. I gotta catch my plane ticket, bro, and� OFFICER COX Your plane or bus ticket, what is it? Greyhound or American Airlines? TRAVELER I gotta catch a bus or a plane now. Whatever's available now. OFFICER COX Yeah, okay. You don't want to be acting all rowdy, man. TRAVELER I don't know what to do. I'm trying to like. OFFICER COX All I'm asking is let me see the Facebook post, because you're the one who said you were going to buy a car from Facebook. You were excited about the DeVille, dude. And I said, "Well, let me see the picture of it." And you said, and you started freaking out. That's weird. I can recognize when something is right and something is not quite right, and you're kind of fitting in the not quite right. 'Cause you're the only one that's freaked out today about showing a Facebook post. TRAVELER I thought this was gonna be quick. I usually come in in and out. OFFICER COX Well, it's not quick today because you're not showing me a daggone Facebook post. That's all you gotta do. Let me see the car. What color is it? TRAVELER Gray. OFFICER COX What year is it? TRAVELER Two thousand one. OFFICER COX You see how easy that was? How much is the car? TRAVELER A thousand. They wanted a thousand two hundred, but I had to ask for a thousand a hundred and, 'cause I told them, "Well, look there's things, like, up with the car." Like the light, headlight was out, the, the, what's it called? Like, the license plate light wasn't working. Like, I was trying to drop it down, so they said a thousand flat. And I said, "Where's the title?" They didn't have no title. So I said, "Aye, I'm not gonna buy it without no title. No title, no sell." OFFICER COX All right, man. We're just gonna go in there and ask you a few more questions and then you'll be on your way, okay? Let's go. OFFICER COX So all I'm trying to do at this point is just tie him to the money. Before we go in the back we're just gonna check you for any weapons, okay? TRAVELER Of course. OFFICER COX I'm not saying that he's guilty or anything like that. I mean, it's either his money or someone's telling him to cross the money. And it's either drug money or alien smuggling. Either way, it would be considered illicit proceeds. OFFICER TORRES So we're gonna run a pallet of these and then we're gonna run all these right here. OFFICER TORRES Today we've got lookouts for suppressors, signal jammers, pill press dyes, and, uh, synthetic drugs. We'd run everything through the X-ray and then we take a look at it. Keep a lookout for signal jammers. Shipments get referred for examination by various factors. It could be origin, where it's coming from, where it's going, the commodity description, the weight. We have a targeting unit monitoring all cargo that's entering the United States, and going outbound. What about this one? OFFICER That's a lookout. OFFICER TORRES For the suppressor? OFFICER So that's nada? OFFICER TORRES No. It's just, um, art supplies. OFFICER One lookout. OFFICER TORRES And that's for the pill press? OFFICER Yeah. Lookout. OFFICER TORRES Does it feel like a pill press? OFFICER No. OFFICER TORRES So nada. This one has nothing. All right, you're good. OFFICER All right. OFFICER TORRES We're just missing the lookout for narcotics. OFFICER Oh, wow. Anomalies coming our way. [COMMERCIAL BREAK] OFFICER It's a white crystal-like substance. Similar to meth. OFFICER TORRES Yeah. OFFICER I'm gonna test it out. It says N-Ethylpentylone hydrochloride. OFFICER TORRES Street name bath salts. OFFICER TORRES It's a stimulant. A Schedule 1 narcotic. OFFICER Schedule 1, there's no medical use for it. OFFICER Highly addictive. OFFICER TORRES Let's go weigh it. How much do you think it is? OFFICER Four kilos ? OFFICER TORRES Each bag is probably about a kilo ? OFFICER Yeah. OFFICER TORRES 4.02 . Now we'll send all the information, shipper, consignee, weight, what it actually is, to HSI and see if they'll accept. We give them forty-eight hours. If they don't accept it then we go ahead and seize it and turn it over to, uh, seized property for destruction. SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY When he got in with the box, did he confirm it was one twenty? AGENT No, he confirmed one twelve and a half. AGENT So, one twenty-five. SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY Okay. Perfect. TASK FORCE OFFICER CRISTOBAL This is how he packaged it. It's in disguise. Like if you were to do a regular traffic stop you wouldn't know the difference. You would think he just came from the grocery store. It's stacked all the way to the bottom with, uh, looks like a bunch of twenties. This one has a bunch of hundreds with some fruit snacks covering it up. TASK FORCE OFFICER CRISTOBAL So right now what we're gonna do is we'll just hide it a little bit. We'll have the K-nine come and make sure that there's narcotics on the money. So you can tell that it's from narco proceeds. We'll let the K-nine do his job right now and we'll see if it hits. AGENT Find it. AGENT The dog's hitting. AGENT Good boy. That's a good boy. TASK FORCE OFFICER CRISTOBAL So after this, we'll take it and we will put it in our evidence. SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY Street-wise that's probably equivalent to multiple kilos of cocaine, heroin, and meth, depending on what narcotic the organization deals with. So this, uh, puts a little dent in their organization. The other crew is gonna identify where the, uh, the target who dropped the money off to us lives. And then we'll, uh, investigate him further from there. OFFICER COX All right, man. Just stand at the wall for me right there, okay? Right here. This column right here. OFFICER COX He said he went to buy a, uh, car in Ju�rez from Facebook. OFFICER Uh-hmm. OFFICER COX And he said that they didn't have a title or anything like that, so he didn't buy it. And he didn't want to show me on his phone, like, the Facebook page. OFFICER We'll take care of it. OFFICER OLIVAS So basically from the subject, I need him to prove that the money is not for illegal proceeds. If he has bank accounts, direct deposit from his job. If there's anything he can prove the money's legit, um, that's all we need to know and he's gonna be down the road. So why are you here today? TRAVELER So, um, I had originally, uh, it all started with just, well, I'm carless and I'm homeless as well, too. OFFICER OLIVAS Uh-hmm. TRAVELER So, I guess I've been asking for money from everyone. Mom, dad, anyone. Anyone. That they could just simply Cash App it to me. And finally it caught up to have at least a thousand one hundred, two hundred. And so I went to look for cars, well, I love Cadillacs. I'm a Cadillac dude. OFFICER OLIVAS Yeah, of course. TRAVELER You know, Cadillac's ain't, Cadillac's ain't cheap. Especially the ones that I like. I like DeVilles, I love DeVilles. Cadillac DeVilles. So I found one over here in Ju�rez, black. Of course I love black, all black. It looked like a pimp car, you know? OFFICER OLIVAS How did you manage to get that money to buy the vehicle? TRAVELER Well, I, like I said, I'm, I'm, I'm homeless, so I'm asking mom for money. I'm asking people for money. OFFICER OLIVAS So if I bring your phone, you're able to show me? TRAVELER What are you trying to review? OFFICER OLIVAS Where the money comes from. TRAVELER Where the money comes from? OFFICER OLIVAS Yes. One of the red flags is that he traveled from Los Angeles to El Paso. So, in my opinion, I think he came to make easy money. TRAVELER The only thing that's involved with cash on my phone is Cash App. Well, if you're gonna go all the way around the world and try to take my phone and, like, not just go through my Cash App where I'm trying to show you, where only the proof is at. 'Cause the proof is just on the Cash App. So are you gonna just go to Cash App or are you gonna go all over the world? OFFICER OLIVAS No, Cash App and probably your last five messages. I'm being honest. TRAVELER There you go. I accept your deal. OFFICER OLIVAS Cash App, right? TRAVELER Cash App. I think there's even, like, a-a signal where it shows, like, all the transactions I've been sent to and what day and what time. OFFICER OLIVAS Okay. So, I mean, like I said, we're being straight up, right? TRAVELER Right. OFFICER OLIVAS All right. So for example, those three. TRAVELER Those, I have no clue about. There's messages, that my brother uses my phone, I, I like to go to Mexico. I do. OFFICER OLIVAS Mm-hmm. TRAVELER I like girls. OFFICER OLIVAS Obviously, here, that's. TRAVELER Those guys? I don't even. OFFICER OLIVAS Undocumented people, correct? TRAVELER No, I'm not sure. OFFICER OLIVAS I mean, they're transporting people. TRAVELER I'm not sure if they're documented. I don't even know who they are. OFFICER OLIVAS The subject's phone, he had over, I want to say, over ten videos, you know, proof of lives. Proof of life is basically an agreement the smuggler makes with a family member of the subject. So once that person has crossed the border safely, they take a video, they say their nationality, their date of birth, their name. And once that video is sent to their family members, then the family members make the payment. TRAVELER I don't know about undocumented people. [COMMERCIAL BREAK] OFFICER OLIVAS That's people saying they already made it into the U.S. They're saying the date and the time, right? TRAVELER They just said they're in El Paso. OFFICER OLIVAS In El Paso and then saying the time, correct? TRAVELER They said their names and the, the time. They said that, they just need, I wanted to know their name, 'cause I didn't know who they are. So what is a video gonna prove where the money came from? The Cash App shows you where the money came from. OFFICER OLIVAS Cash App is used in smuggling, because they can create fake accounts and they can just send money one way, receive money the other way, without even touching it. OFFICER OLIVAS So in order for them to avoid all this, they do it through Cash App. I mean, it's obvious that you either transport people or pick up people and get paid for that. TRAVELER Well, you gotta prove it, man. I mean. OFFICER OLIVAS Have you ever been caught for alien smuggling? Okay. TRAVELER Yeah, I have a record. I do. OFFICER OLIVAS Oh, you do? Well, there's the proof. There's the proof. TRAVELER But that doesn't. TRAVELER That doesn't prove, that doesn't prove. TRAVELER Okay, yes. It's because of my record, yes. OFFICER OLIVAS I mean. TRAVELER But that's. OFFICER OLIVAS The proof is there. You already got popped once, you know, for that. You know the deal, right? TRAVELER I do. OFFICER OLIVAS So the thing is at this point, right? Your money gets seized. You have a month. You prove the money's yours, you get it back. TRAVELER I got thirty days to prove it in jail? OFFICER OLIVAS Well, you're not gonna be in jail. TRAVELER I'm not going to jail? OFFICER OLIVAS You're not going to jail. TRAVELER . Might as well, bro. Like, I don't got no where to go. I'm gonna be homeless in the street, bro. At least, give me a bed for the night, bro. What the . I don't live here. And I just proved it through my Cash App right there, too. And that's what you wanted, was to prove it to you. You think a couple of people, illegal aliens, I work and that's, a thousand dollars is not what they get paid. OFFICER OLIVAS Of course not. TRAVELER Of, so you're telling me I got paid a thousand dollars for those videos? OFFICER OLIVAS Well, I don't know how much you got paid. TRAVELER So I guess I probably gotta go back to make more, bro. 'Cause , man, like, I just lost a thousand dollars. But it's cool, like, like, I'm not, I'm not even tripping, dog. You know, you take an L, you take a bigger win. Like, you bounce back, you know? This ain't the first time I lost a rack and it ain't the, the last time, you know? I'm not gonna give up. Like, this just, this just, this just starts the fight, you know? OFFICER OLIVAS Why? TRAVELER This is the streets versus the feds, you know? At the end of the day, it's the streets versus the feds. OFFICER OLIVAS All right, let's go. Come on. TRAVELER I'm sorry. OFFICER OLIVAS It's all good, bro. It's all good. You're good, bro. Right there. SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY So right now we're gonna head to, uh, one of our targets. He's a Chinese national who's involved in money laundering. We, uh, initiated a case on him back in 2018. We were following them, we did constant surveillance, and then they, kind of, just disappeared. They left, uh, the Chicago area. And right now we got intel that they're back in Chicago, um, so we're gonna go set up on them. AGENT They got, like, three parking spots towards the mahjong place. AGENT I'll just park in one of those. SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT KEN All right. I'm coming to you guys right now. SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT KEN The team was out all morning, and then finally located his car, and they now have him sitting in a-a mahjong parlor, gambling. And so we are finally gonna find him after multiple years and hopefully bring him into custody. AGENT We've hit him a couple of times before, so he knows some of us. AGENT Ten-four. SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT KEN This individual came in, basically, on our radar, back in 2018 in a money laundering case that we were working. We started to see a dramatic drop in the number of Colombian and Mexican based money pickups, as we call, "flow of funds." We could not figure it out. And then it wasn't until we identified an individual down in Guadalajara, who's responsible for putting the cartels of Chicago and the Chinese community together. The Chinese community had the capacity to, just with a couple clicks of the mouse, move the money from one account in China to another. And then do a cash payout instantly to the cartels. Next thing you know, we have Chinese nationals meeting with, you know, Sinaloa cartel guys and receiving five, six hundred, seven hundred thousand dollars in bulk cash in a suitcase. And so when we finally understood that, we were able to infiltrate. SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY The target that we're gonna go do surveillance on now, we know they did at least a million dollars' worth of-of laundering. And right now they think things have cooled back down and that law enforcement's not on them. They'll come back to what they know, which is Chicago. And back doing the same things they were doing, laundering money. So right now we're, uh, we're set up, uh, for surveillance on the target. They'll go to the mahjong place easily for four or five, six hours a day. AGENT That's his silver, uh, gray Beamer, right over there on the right. SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT KEN They've got his car identified in the parking lot. So, unfortunately, right now it's a waiting game. CHIEF OFFICER CHAVEZ We intercepted a machine. CHIEF OFFICER CHAVEZ We had some intelligence that it possibly had narcotics in it. OFFICER You gonna start running K-9? Yeah, he's gonna do it now. OFFICER That's a positive alert. OFFICER Good. There we go. OFFICER TORRES K-9 alerted, so that gave us a positive hit that there is narcotics in there. It was manifested as a, uh, mixer. But when you're looking at it, the wiring wasn't attached and it smelled like fresh paint. There was a lot of signs that we look for of tampering that's a dead giveaway that is not what it's manifested as. OFFICER There's gotta be a weak point along here. OFFICER We gotta cut this, right? OFFICER Yes. OFFICER TORRES Can you see if it went through? OFFICER There you go. OFFICER There you go. OFFICER Right there. OFFICER The moment of truth. OFFICER There it is. OFFICER See those crystals? OFFICER Hold up. OFFICER There we go. Crystal methamphetamine. [COMMERCIAL BREAK] OFFICER There you go. It's right there. OFFICER Test it with the Gemini. OFFICER There it is. OFFICER It's crystal meth. OFFICER Crack it open, see how much we got in there. OFFICER LAM We're gonna take it to a place with better, uh, ventilation. OFFICER LAM We have no idea where the access panel is, where to take it apart from. But once we discover that it is loaded with narcotics, then it's a free for all. OFFICER Oh, that's the magnetic portion. CHIEF OFFICER CHAVEZ We came across a layer of about three inches of magnets, which is, kind of, unheard of. OFFICER Take it out, then we'll keep going. OFFICER What is this? OFFICER It's like a second layer, right? OFFICER There's, like, two layers of metal there. CHIEF OFFICER CHAVEZ Under the magnets, we actually have a layer of lead, so this organization that is packing these is, is sparing no expense to try and circumvent our inspection technology. OFFICER TORRES We're gonna cut in there and then get it from there. They do all these things, of course. OFFICER TORRES If we run it through the X-ray, we would not be able to see that. So they know how we operate, they know what we're looking for. So that's why they do these things. OFFICER All right, you guys, let's get it off. OFFICER TORRES I can do it right here. And another one on, on this side. Lift it up. OFFICER Oh, hold on. You got a whole bunch of crystals right here. OFFICER Wow. OFFICER Holy . Completely loaded. OFFICER OLIVAS I was questioning him about the alien smuggling. OFFICER Uh-huh. OFFICER OLIVAS And he said it's only a thousand bucks. I mean, more, a lot more than that. OFFICER OLIVAS So I don't know if we can get him to sign and get him out of here? OFFICER We might be get him out of here. OFFICER Yeah, yeah. Yeah, you can get him out of here. That's fine. TRAVELER [speaking Spanish] Bring them all from the shore. TRAVELER [speaking Spanish] Bring them all from all sides. TRAVELER [speaking Spanish] Grab them and bring them all. SUPERVISORY OFFICER TERRAZAS Him yelling, kicking the door, banging on the windows, it may be an act, it may not be an act. You know, we are not medical professionals that we can make the determination that maybe he's having a mental episode. Our concern is just to calm him down, keep him safe, do our jobs, seize the money, and release him and get him out the door. SUPERVISORY OFFICER TERRAZAS Relax. Relax before you start hyperventilating, okay? Relax. TRAVELER I want to go back to L.A. SUPERVISORY OFFICER TERRAZAS Let us do our job and you'll be released. CHIEF GONZALEZ What does he want? SUPERVISORY OFFICER TERRAZAS Well, it's 'cause he's saying he's homeless. He has no place to go. OFFICER He's saying he's homeless. He has nowhere to go, yeah. CHIEF GONZALEZ He has nowhere to go. SUPERVISORY OFFICER TERRAZAS And we're taking his money. OFFICER How much is it? OFFICER One thousand forty. OFFICER Well, give him a hundred. SUPERVISORY OFFICER TERRAZAS He was claiming that it costs ninety-five dollars for him to get back onto a bus back to California where he came from. So we'll just give him a hundred dollars as humanitarian. TRAVELER I thought I was leaving today. TRAVELER Yeah, I forgot I had this money. TRAVELER I was gonna use the money to go home. SUPERVISORY OFFICER TERRAZAS Okay. Are you going to calm down so I can give you a hundred bucks? 'Cause look at what you're doing to your wrists. Yes? TRAVELER And I promise you I'll be out of here and I'll be in L.A. SUPERVISORY OFFICER TERRAZAS I'm gonna give you your phone and everything back. I'll give you a hundred bucks and we will walk you out, but you gotta walk out calmly on your own, with no issues. OFFICER OLIVAS [speaking Spanish] Are you going to behave yourself? TRAVELER [speaking Spanish] Thanks to God, yes. OFFICER OLIVAS [speaking Spanish] You're very young. OFFICER OLIVAS [speaking Spanish] You can still change your life. OFFICER OLIVAS [speaking Spanish] I told you, everything is going to be okay. He has been released. OFFICER OLIVAS It's administrative procedure, so we just took the money. He's gonna receive a letter in thirty days. You know, if he can prove the money's legit, uh, he'll get it back, if not we're gonna seize it. TRAVELER I'm going back to Mexico right now. TRAVELER Catch me again tomorrow. OFFICER So much for that bus. OFFICER Where is he going? OFFICER He said he's, "I'm going back to Mexico." OFFICER He said, "I'm going back to Mexico tonight." CHIEF GONZALEZ He was cool though, right? Like, he walked out? It's a game for them, right? CHIEF GONZALEZ So they've gone through the process, they know what questions we ask, what we're gonna do, what we're gonna ask for, what we're gonna look for. So, definitely, we might see him again and now that we have him on record, right away when he comes into primary, now he'll have a, a hit. So we'll be able to see that, uh, what happened here today. AGENT I got good eyes on the car. AGENT Still there, didn't move yet. SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT KEN We've got multiple people watching the car right now and keeping an eye on the entrance to the business. SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT KEN My team is investigating this guy, because he was the individual within the Chinese community that was actually meeting with members of the cartel. He's well over a million dollars that he's moved for the cartel and that's just out of Chicago. AGENT I'll jump behind him once he pulls out, once I see he makes that right. SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT KEN All right. SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY So we're just getting everyone in position to be able to follow him away once he does leave. If it's anything like previous surveillances, he should be leaving within the next hour. AGENT The plan is, we're just going to T-stop him. AGENT See if he wants to cooperate, give him one last shot. SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT KEN A lot of these individuals that we approach, um, we want their cooperation. And so, if we approach them in the middle of the business and everyone sees that he's just been arrested, his chances of cooperating are, are drastically reduced. We're hoping he doesn't stay out here all night, but unfortunately they dictate the time frames. And so, you know, even. AGENT All right, target's out. SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT KEN We're on. We're on. We're on. We're live. [COMMERCIAL BREAK] AGENT All right, target's at the door. Looking around. AGENT Get ready to go. AGENT Walking back to his car. AGENT Drivers seat. AGENT Reverse lights. AGENT He pulled off. AGENT Copy. AGENT Go time. Go time. SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT KEN The team is gonna affect the traffic stop on this target. The biggest concern always is the safety of our guys. AGENT Yeah, he's going left. AGENT Uh, I got good eyes on the car. AGENT We're moving in. Take him down right now. AGENT Go, go, go, go, go. AGENT I got him at the stop sign. AGENT Come on out. SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT KEN So after about ten hours, we finally got a hold of the guy that's been evading us all day. We were able to apprehend him without incident. So how's it going? What's he, what's he gonna do? SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY It's going pretty well. He, uh, I think he's gonna cooperate with us, so I'm gonna go take him back to the local P.D. See what he has to say. SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT KEN Good. Good. SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY We just arrested him. We'll take him, we'll process him. He'll go in front of the judge. SPECIAL AGENT BOBBY And then all throughout there, it's gonna be in the court's hands. SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT KEN Today was a good day for the team. We ripped over a hundred thousand dollars in one op earlier and we finally arrested this individual that we've been looking at for a while. It may not be the CEO of the money laundering organization, but he's an integral part. And he's the guy that is moving the money day in and day out for these organizations. So it's a good day for HSI and a good day for Chicago. OFFICER Oh, wow. OFFICER This is a pretty substantial one. OFFICER Can we get another one on this side. OFFICER To lift it up? OFFICER TORRES And we just had to cut into it. OFFICER TORRES We cut off the layers, took out the magnets, cut in there again, and just, like, it was hard labor, not giving up. OFFICER That's a large quantity. OFFICER It's Breaking Bad right there. OFFICER TORRES I didn't expect the whole thing to be loaded like that, so it was a surprise. It was packed in really tight. OFFICER Let me take them out. OFFICER Because some of them are ripped on the bottom. OFFICER Is that one ripped? OFFICER Just hold it. OFFICER Just hold it up here. OFFICER Okay. CHIEF OFFICER CHAVEZ There is always that risk of us cutting into a bag, making dust. The officers they're wearing N-95 masks and we're using respirators every step of the way for everyone who's in the vicinity of this. OFFICER Okay, we're clear. OFFICER So let's put this on the scale and see how much we have. OFFICER TORRES This is the biggest narcotics seizure that we've had here at LAX, and that I've been a part of, so it feels good. I wasn't gonna give up. I knew, I was like I have to get it today. I knew that we were gonna get it today, it was just a matter of how long it was gonna take. But, uh, yeah, we just have to have the right tools to be able to cut through everything that they put. If they can build it, we can take it apart. It's that simple. OFFICER LAM Drugs, they're horrible. So it gives me satisfaction, because how many people did we stop from possibly overdosing? And how many young kids that this was, like, their first drug that they were gonna use? So we stopped five hundred and fifty kilos from hitting the streets. That's, to me, that's insane. Totally rewarding.