BOWLES BREAK DANIELLE DORTA ELIAS ENID FINN LATTUCA MAN MARTY MITCH NARR OFFICER RAMOS REDPATH ROODY SAINT SUPERVISOR TONY WOMAN WONG

NARR
On this episode of To Catch a Smuggler…

ELIAS
Looks like we got a false bottom.

ELIAS
You’re under arrest for the importation of narcotics into the United States.


LATTUCA
You knew there was cocaine in your shoes. I know that and you know that.

LATTUCA
And the white is the actual cocaine.

LATTUCA
I’m going to be honest with you, I think you’re a liar.

MITCH
No, no.

LATTUCA
Don’t talk.

MITCH
Okay.

BOWLES
Put everything together, she’s a prime candidate to be a smuggler.

BOWLES
Now I think you’re lying straight to my face.






NARR
At New York’s JFK Airport, millions of dollars of contraband are seized every year.

NARR
And the agents and officers with the Department of Homeland Security work around the clock to stop this flood of illegal goods and drugs into the country.

BOWLES
Hold on. Stop.

WONG
I want to get to the bottom of this.

LATTUCA
It’s not the truth, stop saying to me you’re telling me the truth.







ELIAS
JFK handles the most international air traffic in the United States. Been here approximately eight and a half years, going into my ninth year of service.

ELIAS
When someone arrives at JFK airport, we’re the first people to actually have interaction with them.

ELIAS
You know, bad guys come in all different shapes, sizes, colors. Just never know, you just never know who it’s going to be.

ELIAS
It makes you want to stop them all.


ELIAS
This is a flight coming out of Guyana.

ELIAS
Let’s have your passports out please.

ELIAS
Guyana is a hotspot for drug activity. Because it’s in South America and the proximity to the other countries of interest, we do see numerous amounts of narcotics coming from there.

ELIAS
How you doing buddy? Ok, Mr. [bleep], you have a nice night.


ELIAS
Something was a little off with this guy. Just by his behavior alone. He was scared, nervous, up to something.

ELIAS
You see that guy back there? I had him upstairs, he looks interesting. Here he comes.

ELIAS
Let’s see your passport. How long were you away for?

ROODY
A week and a half. For New Year’s.

ELIAS
For New Year’s? Alright, just follow me real quick. Just want to check your passport.

ELIAS
You said you were down there for New Year’s?

ROODY
Yep.

ELIAS
Alright. You’re all done. Alright, listen, we’re just gonna take you to the back and verify your passport. Okay? Then you’ll be on your way.

ELIAS
This guy’s coming from Guyana, he seems really nervous. Once I started searching the bag, the guy’s demeanor changed. His nervous behavior started spiking.

ELIAS
You need to make a phone call? Who’s picking you up, family, friends? Alright, just do me a favor, put the bag back up on the table. Just have a seat on the bench real quick while we verify your passport.

ELIAS
I opened the bag. I noticed that there was some kind of modification. Looks like we got a false bottom.

ELIAS
There, look...it’s coke.

DORTA
Alright, get up. Hit the wall. Hit the wall. Stay right there.

DORTA
You test it?

ELIAS
I could smell it.

DORTA
Take off your jacket.


ELIAS
Positive for coke. Alright buddy.

DORTA
Put your hands up against the wall.

ELIAS
Well, my instincts were right, for once. I came out uh, this guy is positive, the bottom is loaded. It’s cocaine.

ELIAS
You’re being arrested for the importation of narcotics into the United States. Okay?

ELIAS
We’re looking at maybe like 4,500 grams. The whole bottom’s covered. 

ELIAS
He’s looking at some serious time.

ELIAS
You got a lot of weight there.

ELIAS
This is a pretty bad job. You know, once I open the bag, you could smell it. And you could see the alterations all the way around. We have six packages in here.

ELIAS
Because of the recent seizures we’ve received coming off the Guyana flight, we’re gonna hit this flight extra hard this week.

ELIAS
Roody, any questions for me, man?

ROODY
I just...’cause before I even landed I spoke to my wife.

ELIAS
Okay.

ROODY
And it’s my daughter’s birthday Saturday, I just wanted to let her know, you know, best of wishes ’cause I’m not going to see her for her birthday.

ELIAS
You know what, I mean, like I said, these agents are gonna come down here and talk to you. It’s up to them.

ELIAS
It’s just another day at JFK.




REDPATH
We have immigrants coming in every single day, in every terminal here that we service as U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.

REDPATH
Coceres Stande?

REDPATH
And I just want to make sure that she’s not living here illegally. Just looking for any stamps that she may have had in her passport to show that she departed the United States and entered her country—she’s from Paraguay. Can you ask her when was the last time she was in the United States—when was her last trip to the United States?

(Translator translates)

Woman (subtitled)
2009.

REDPATH
Is this an entry from your country? Is this an entry from Paraguay?

WOMAN
Yes.

Translator (subtitled)
How did you get this stamp?

Woman (subtitled)
That’s what you get when you arrive.

Translator (Spanish)
No...

REDPATH
That’s an entry into Paraguay. You never entered Paraguay in that time—you were here in the United States.

Woman (subtitled)
Maybe it’s another person.

Translator (Spanish)
No, it’s not another person...

REDPATH
How much time did you spend here? We’re gonna go back and forth for a very long time like this. Okay? If you continue to lie to me, we can be here all day. Were you here in the United States from 2002 to 2009?

WOMAN
Okay.

REDPATH
Yes? Okay.

REDPATH
We do have confirmed overstays. She stayed for a period of seven years. Um, to cover that up what she did was got a stamp in her passport that stated that she left and entered her country two months after her entry in 2002.

REDPATH
Overstay.

Woman (subtitled)
I am an architect, but I have to leave my country to work. There isn’t a job for me in architecture there.

REDPATH
Questioned her, she admitted to everything.

SUPERVISOR
Alright. We’ll start a statement on there, and get the departing flight information. Okay?

REDPATH
Alright. Sure, thank you.

REDPATH
You stayed here longer than the time that you were supposed to, that you were admissible. As well as you committed fraud by acquiring those backdated stamps on your passport, to circumvent the fact that you had entered the United States and stayed here longer than admitted.

OFFICER
Just leave your bag right on the chair for me.

REDPATH
My supervisor, as well as his supervisor, has decided that unfortunately you’re inadmissible to the United States today. We’re not allowing you to come into the United States.

Woman (subtitled)
For me, it was a sacrifice to leave my daughters, to not live with them. They grew up without me. It’s hard, really hard.

REDPATH
We all take for granted the fact that we live in this country, and you know, everyone wants the American dream.

REDPATH
But you have to go about it in the way that you’re supposed to—legally.



LATTUCA
We just got a call from Customs and Border Protection indicating that they have a drug seizure over in terminal 4. All I know is the flight’s from Jamaica.

LATTUCA
Supposedly a guy is concealing cocaine in his shoes.

LATTUCA
How’s it looking?

RAMOS
Good. I stopped him traveling with one bag, coming off from the Jamaica flight. 

RAMOS
As soon as I stopped him, I started speaking to him—he was very, very nervous. I checked his body, he didn’t have anything on his body, so we took his shoes, Jose grabbed one of his shoes.

LATTUCA
The shoes that he’s wearing?

RAMOS
Yeah, the shoes that’s he wearing were extremely heavy. So after that, I decided to probe it. As soon as I probed it, I just took the shoes. A white powdery substance came out, which tests positive for cocaine.

LATTUCA
This is a pretty common concealment. It’s got some Saran Wrap, and the white is the actual cocaine. The purity level is pretty high. This is a little over half a kilo of cocaine.

LATTUCA
Street value after it’s cut up a couple times, and sold and resold, you’re probably looking at somewhere around $60,000 for the two shoes of cocaine.

LATTUCA
How you doing? My name is John Lattuca. I’m a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations. 

LATTUCA
Obviously you’re caught red-handed with the drugs. If you play ball with us, you cooperate with us, you agree to work with us, we can help you out in return in the form of a cooperation agreement with the United States government. 

LATTUCA
So are you willing to talk to us, let us know what’s going on here, and hopefully we can do something.

MITCH
Yeah.

LATTUCA
How many times have you made drug trips?

MITCH
I’ve never done it.

LATTUCA
So you’ve never been involved with drugs before?

MITCH
No.

LATTUCA
I’ve seen your face somewhere before. Have you ever been contacted by law enforcement in the United States before for any reasons?

MITCH
No.

LATTUCA
How did you decide that you were going to do a cocaine trip to the United States?

MITCH
I didn’t know cocaine was in there.

LATTUCA
What did you think it was?

MITCH
Like weed, the green one.

LATTUCA
How much were you getting paid for the trip?

MITCH
Like two thousand, three...Two thousand, two...

LATTUCA
Okay, so what you’re telling me is basically you thought you had marijuana in the soles of your shoes and you were gonna get paid twenty-three hundred dollars, that’s a small amount of weed.

LATTUCA
Listen, I need your honesty, okay? Really I need your honesty, because I’m not going to continue on with this interview with you if I feel that you’re not telling me the truth. I’m going to cut it off.

LATTUCA
You can’t change what you did, so let’s just move forward. But I want your honesty from the beginning. And I want to know what you know, because if I’m convinced of that, like I said, I’ll help you out. I believe you thought it was cocaine.

LATTUCA
But listen, you said you were never convicted? Have you ever done this before?

MITCH
No.

LATTUCA
Honestly?

MITCH
Honestly.

LATTUCA
Cause you look very familiar to me. You look very familiar to me.

MITCH
No.

LATTUCA
Because you don’t do any drugs.

MITCH
No, I don’t ever do drugs.

LATTUCA
Okay. So I’m a little confused. Did you mention to the inspectors, the officers before, that you used cocaine before you came on this trip?

MITCH
No, he was talking about the shoes. And I say this is mine, this is yeah.

LATTUCA
So you’re basically saying that you said you took cocaine because cocaine was in your shoes. Is that what you’re saying to me?

MITCH
Yeah.

LATTUCA
But you thought it was marijuana in your shoes?

MITCH
I saw someone dig it and say...

LATTUCA
And what did you do, you looked at it?

MITCH
I told him, “Let me see.” He say, “No…” “…sit where you are.”

LATTUCA
So how did you know it was cocaine? I don’t understand that.

MITCH
I’m right here, I’m a hundred percent sure that is cocaine when he dig it up right here.

LATTUCA
You’re a hundred percent sure that it’s cocaine.

MITCH
Sure, yeah.

LATTUCA
Could have been heroin, could have been flour...

MITCH
I never see heroin

LATTUCA
Could have been anything. Oh so you’ve seen cocaine before?

MITCH
I’ve never seen...

LATTUCA
You see the problem with your argument? Alright, if you’ve never seen drugs before, you don’t do drugs, you’ve never seen cocaine. But you look over in the shoes, you see some stuff in the shoes, and you know one hundred percent, your words, that that’s cocaine. Does that sound strange to you?

MITCH
He didn’t show...

LATTUCA
You just said you’d seen it. Listen, let me stop this right now. I’m going to tell you right now. I’m going to be honest with you, I think you’re a liar.

MITCH
No...

LATTUCA
I think you’re a liar and I’m telling you right now.

MITCH
Please no...

LATTUCA
Don’t talk.

MITCH
Okay.

LATTUCA
Don’t talk. Just listen to what I’m telling you. ’Cause my patience is thin with you. And there’s a hundred guys like you, that come through this airport every day, bro. You’re not somebody unique.

LATTUCA
We got other things to do besides you. Okay? So this is your opportunity, this is not mine. Because we’ll just ship you down to jail and start on the next case. Don’t waste my time.
BREAK #1



LATTUCA
I’m going to tell you right now. Everybody—listen to me, listen to what—you’re talking again, listen to me.

MITCH
Alright.

LATTUCA
Everybody in your shoes in the beginning tries to minimize, you know what I’m—understand, you know what I mean by minimize? Minimize meaning that everybody that sits in that chair at first, wants to make it look like that they’re only a little, little bit involved, okay? When the truth is they’re a little bit more than a little bit involved. You knew there was cocaine in your shoes, that’s what it is. I know that and you know that.

MITCH
I never see.

LATTUCA
You don’t have to see it to know it, right? You don’t have to see it to know it. You’re going to tell me the truth, or we’re going to cut it clean. How do you want it?  ’Cause I already reached the end of my patience with you.

MITCH
I understand.

LATTUCA
Are you going to come clean or you gonna lie?

MITCH
I’m coming clean. I’m telling you.

LATTUCA
Okay. You know, I got to be honest with you, I’m not really believing your story right now so we’re going to go upstairs and we’re going to start the processing.



LATTUCA
On the ride over here he’s saying that his identity that he came into the airport with today is not his true identity. We’re questioning him, we’re calling him Mitch and all of a sudden he says his real name is Horace.

LATTUCA
Walk over here.

LATTUCA
If he is Mitch, then we have some criminal history associated with that, that indicate that he’s been involved in drug smuggling for a long time.

LATTUCA
I’m going to give you a blanket you can hang over yourself.

LATTUCA
Usually, when we’re interviewing somebody about a specific crime, such as drug smuggling, we usually have the right name. 

LATTUCA
Now, not only did we catch him smuggling drugs and lying about it, but now he says that he’s somebody other than what’s on his passport. 

LATTUCA
Right now we can’t even work with him because we don’t even know who he is.

LATTUCA
I still want to help you like I said I did, but I’m going to need a little bit more information, more information from you, okay?

MITCH
You told me you want to help me right?

LATTUCA
What?

MITCH
You told me you want to help me right?

LATTUCA
Yes. Of course I do.

LATTUCA
Give me your name again. Let’s hear your name, one more time. I want you to say it, your real name, your real name and your real date of birth and give me your address in Jamaica.

MITCH
My name is [bleep].

LATTUCA
Spell it for me, your first name.

MITCH
H-o-r-a-c-e.

LATTUCA
Horace?

MITCH
Yeah. [Bleep].

LATTUCA
When was the first time you came to the United States?

MITCH
2006.

LATTUCA
Let’s talk about your other trips. I don’t think this is the first time you’ve made this kind of trip.

MITCH
I don’t...

LATTUCA
I don’t think this is the first time you’ve made this trip.

MITCH
You don’t have to think it, but I’m telling you. I’m telling you the truth.

LATTUCA
You got any names?

MITCH
I got no names.

LATTUCA
You sure?

MITCH
I just said, I got no names.

LATTUCA
Who bought you the ticket for this flight?

MITCH
The gentleman that told me that he want to send me up.

LATTUCA
What’s his name?

MITCH
Paul…

LATTUCA
Paul? Does Paul know your family?

MITCH
Yeah.

LATTUCA
He knows where they live?

MITCH
Yeah.

LATTUCA
And you feel that if you did something proactive for us, that your family would be in danger.

MITCH
These guys, once they know you do the things like that, they show a different side.

LATTUCA
There’s somebody above Paul?

MITCH
No...

LATTUCA
Paul is the main man.

MITCH
They say, you know, “Why don’t you make some money?” “You don’t want to make some money? It’s easy.”

LATTUCA
Did you ask him, what do I have to do for that money?

MITCH
He already told me that when I travel, I’m gonna like put something, you know, fit for the shoes.

LATTUCA
Okay, so you knew that he was gonna, you know, fill the shoes with cocaine, and you were gonna bring it here. Right?

MITCH
I knew that I’m gonna bring it. I’m gonna bring, yeah.

LATTUCA
Okay.

LATTUCA
That’s what I wanted in the beginning. I just wanted the truth from you. It’s good—I’m glad you’re telling me the truth, because that’s what matters.

LATTUCA
Do you have anything with you now that has your real name on it?

MITCH
No.

LATTUCA
You’re sure?

LATTUCA
Right now, we are—I’m trying to reference a contact that he mentioned during the interview, to find out if he stayed with them, when he stayed with them, what name they know him by.

LATTUCA
He’s claiming Mitch [bleep] is not his real name. That his real name is Horace [bleep]. 

LATTUCA
It raised a red flag because—one of two things happened here. He’s trying to avoid ownership of the problems that he had 10, 11 years ago. Or he did actually receive and pay for—which he admits to paying for—a fraudulent visa. So we’re trying to determine whether or not he really is Mitch [bleep], or he is Horace [bleep].



FINN
We’re at terminal 3. We got a flight coming in from Georgetown, Guyana.

FINN
Folks, have your passports out please.

FINN
We’ve been getting a couple seizures from there lately, cocaine mainly.

ELIAS
Yeah, look. It’s coke.

DORTA
Alright, get up.

FINN
Drugs come from Guyana, so we look at bags from Guyana.

FINN
We’re gonna go up to the gate, and take a look at all the passengers coming off the flight. Hopefully we’ll get lucky and make some seizures.

ELIAS
How are you, sir?

FINN
Just keep your passports out, guys, thank you.

SAINT
Passport?

ELIAS
Thank you sir. How are you?

BOWLES
Break off. Break off.

ELIAS
Um, we just saw somebody, um—she approached Officer Saint. Officer Saint asked her a couple questions, and she, you know, seemed a little unresponsive and gave vague answers. So we’re gonna like just stop her just to see what the story is. Could be nothing, but we’re gonna take a look at it.

BOWLES
Could be cornrows? I saw her walk up straight, and—

FINN
I saw cornrows.

BOWLES
Yeah, cornrows.

SAINT
She appears to be nervous. She keeps glancing over here.

OFFICER
Friend as a contact is a big indicator.


OFFICER
You’re up.

ELIAS
Can I see your passport, please? How are you doing today? 

ELIAS
Okay, follow me. We want to take a quick look at your bag. And what was the purpose of going to Guyana?

DANIELLE
To see my brother.

ELIAS
Your brother?

FINN
How long has he been in Guyana?

DANIELLE
I didn’t really ask him.

FINN
It’s your brother. When did you last see him before this?

DANIELLE
When did I last see him? I seen him like, eleven years ago.

FINN
Eleven years ago?

DANIELLE
The last time I’ve seen him...

FINN
So what made you go to Guyana now?

DANIELLE
He just invited me out there.

ELIAS
Are you of Guyanese descent, or...?

DANIELLE
I’m not Guyanese, but my—I have family...

ELIAS
You have family that’s Guyanese? Through marriage or something, or...?

DANIELLE
Yeah. It’s kinda warm out here...

ELIAS
It’s very warm, it’s like 50 degrees outside.

DANIELLE
It’s strange.

ELIAS
Yeah.

DANIELLE
It’s January, it’s like 50 degrees. I ain’t gonna complain, but...

ELIAS
When people are nervous, they just start talking about random things. You know, and usually they’re complaining, why are you stopping me? We didn’t hear that.

ELIAS
So this is your first time in Guyana?

DANIELLE
Yeah. First time even out of the country?

ELIAS
Really? How did you like it?

DANIELLE
It was different. I’m glad to be back home, I appreciate America a little bit more.

FINN
Danielle, what we’re gonna do is, we’re gonna bring you into a private room. We’re gonna check your body, make sure you’re not carrying anything. Alright?

DANIELLE
Okay.


FINN
We got a lady, she’s just came in from Guyana. We did her bags, they were negative. And we’re gonna check her body, see if she’s carrying anything on the outside of her body, underneath her clothing.

ELIAS
Her demeanor was very, um...hmm.




TONY
Looks like food. Lots of food in the mail.

TONY
Last year, CBP mail did over 700,000 packages of international mail per day. With over 100,000 pounds of drug seizures last year.

TONY
Looks like some herbal medication here. A lot of herbs today. Ooh, valium. Valium is not allowed. It’s going to be destroyed, everything here will be destroyed. So that’s what happens when you send controlled substances through the mail. You don’t get anything.

TONY
I just saw something I didn’t like.

MARTY
Nice.

TONY
What you got there, Marty?

MARTY
I got a lot of pills.

TONY
It says vitamins on it, does it look like a vitamin?

MARTY
No, definitely not. I think these are controlled substances here.

MARTY
Have you seen that before, Alprazolam?

TONY
Well we found what we believe to be a prescription pill called Alprazolam, which is commonly known as Xanax.

TONY
But that is good see, it doesn’t look like a vitamin, definitely not a vitamin. Pretty evil, I would say, to put, uh, controlled substances in children’s vitamins.

TONY
We are sticking it in an evidence bag and it’s gonna get destroyed.

TONY
That’s one of the reasons I get up in the morning, is because these kids, they need to be protected.

TONY
Anybody that sticks drugs in vitamins, in a vitamin case, is going to get a seizure out of it, you know, we’re gonna seize it.



SAINT
You’re gonna follow my instructions, okay?

DANIELLE
Okay.

SAINT
You’re gonna stand here. Hands up like this, feet wide apart.

FINN
We got a lady, she’s just came in from Guyana. Initial interview, she really doesn’t appear to have any serious ties to the country. Guyana’s not really a vacation spot.

ELIAS
She’s pretty polite. So you know, she’s well spoken, she has a job.

FINN
We’re gonna have to grill her.

FINN
When you start digging a little deeper into the story, that’s when you see the deception starts coming in.

FINN
So tell me how this trip came about.

DANIELLE
You know, he was like, “Oh, you should come out here.” I was like, “Well, I can’t afford to come out by myself, so…” And he’s like...just gave me half of the money to come out.

FINN
He sent you money?

DANIELLE
Yeah.

FINN
And then what’d you do?

DANIELLE
Well I waited till I had my money, then you know, I bought a ticket.

FINN
So when you were in Guyana, where did you stay?

DANIELLE
I stayed with my brother.

FINN
In his house?

DANIELLE
Yeah.

FINN
Who else lives with him?

DANIELLE
Just him.

FINN
Just him? How old is he?

DANIELLE
Thirty…six.

FINN
Okay, and how is he your brother?

DANIELLE
Through marriage.

FINN
Whose marriage?

DANIELLE
Um…my sister’s.

FINN
Huh? I don’t get it. Your sister—come again. Explain the connection here.

DANIELLE
Like he’s my brother-in-law. I just call him…you know, he’s my brother.

FINN
Alright, you’re confusing me now. Is he your brother, or your brother-in-law?

DANIELLE
He’s my brother...in-law.

FINN
This is pretty simple. I mean, they’re family ties, these are easy questions. 

FINN
So you went to visit your sister’s husband.

DANIELLE
Ex…not... Ex-husband, she’s re-married.

FINN
Are you being serious right now? He’s a nice brother-in-law. He’s a nice ex-brother-in-law. He hasn’t seen you in 11 years. That don’t sound right. Nobody’s that nice. 

FINN
Alright, so we’re gonna call Evan. He’s gonna verify all that. He drove you to the airport today.

DANIELLE
Mm-hmm.

FINN
Alright. Okay. We’re gonna call him up.

ELIAS
Hello, I’m looking for an Evan [bleep], please? Hi Evan. This is Officer Elias at JFK International Airport. Do you know a Danielle [bleep]? Yes. No you don’t? 

ELIAS
Well she was coming out of Guyana, that’s why we—and she had your number in her bag. So we figured we’d contact you, might be a relative or something. Thank you very much for your time, sir. Alright, bye.

ELIAS
Alright, we got no confirmation. He’s denying knowing her. So this—that’s really good. So somebody’s hiding something.

ELIAS
Says he don't even know her. I said I’m working with the airlines, we found your name in her bag. Just wanted to return it back to you. He’s denying knowing her at all.

ELIAS
I contacted Evan [bleep] in Guyana. He’s claiming he don’t even know you.

ELIAS
He says he hasn’t known you, he don’t know you, he don’t know what we’re talking about. He don’t know how you got his number. We don’t know who to believe here. So somebody’s lying, obviously.



LATTUCA
He came in under a passport today called—under the name Mitch [bleep]. Okay? He’s claiming Mitch [bleep]’s not his real name. 

LATTUCA
Right now he’s obviously going to be processed for importation of narcotics. But we’re trying to determine whether or not he really is Mitch, or he is Horace.

LATTUCA
We’re gonna make some phone calls, be right back. Okay?

LATTUCA
This is John Lattuca, I’m an immigration officer over here at JFK Airport. Calling about Mitch [bleep], just trying to verify some of his documentation. Okay, when would you say he started visiting you? What year? You purchased this ticket for him? 

LATTUCA
That’s great—listen, I’ll give you a call back and let you know how everything’s going so you’re not worried, alright?

LATTUCA
This whole thing’s just not right.

LATTUCA
She also says that she knows that he was coming here since either the late ’90s or very early 2000s.

LATTUCA
Do you know him by any other name? Let me ask you, does the name Horace sound familiar to you? No? Thank you. Bye-bye.

LATTUCA
The phone calls did not corroborate that his name’s actually Horace, which he claims. Everybody knows him by the alias Mitch.

LATTUCA
You said that this guy Paul [bleep] bought your ticket this time.

MITCH
Yeah.

LATTUCA
Right? You said that, correct? Okay, well, Paul [bleep] didn’t buy your ticket. 

LATTUCA
You want to try again? There’s another problem here. They don’t know you by the name Horace? Why? These are your family. They’ve never heard of this name before. So now I’m starting to believe that Mitch is your real name.

LATTUCA
These people are confirming that you’re not telling me the truth. Okay?

MITCH
Mm-hmm.

LATTUCA
You have been coming here under Mitch [bleep] for some time now. And you’ve been here before 2005. I know that. 

LATTUCA
And I spoke to the ladies that you gave me. You gave me their contact information, you gave me their phone numbers. And they tell me that you’ve been coming here since the late ’90s, early 2000s. Two people are telling me the same story that have no reason to lie. Am I right or am I wrong?

LATTUCA
You—you have this name. I don’t know if it’s your real name or not.

MITCH
Yeah.

LATTUCA
But you’ve been coming here under Mitch [bleep] since the late ’90s. Yes you have. And the both of them—the both of them confirmed it. 

LATTUCA
Why would they just say the late ’90s? Why would they say that, if it wasn’t true? I knew I recognized you.

MITCH
Listen…

LATTUCA
I knew I recognized you. And this is not the first time you’ve had contact in the drug world.

MITCH
This is what I’m telling you…

LATTUCA
I know what you’re telling me.

MITCH
I swear it’s the truth.

LATTUCA
Okay, here—here’s the laundry list here. You did cocaine, then you said you didn’t do cocaine. You said you knew it wasn’t cocaine, then you knew it was cocaine. You said you were Mitch [bleep], now you’re Horace [bleep]. Your story keeps changing, man.

LATTUCA
You’re not telling me the truth, because every time I turn around, it’s a different story. It’s not the truth. Stop saying to me you’re telling me the truth! You don’t tell me the truth. You tell me a lot of [bleep]! That’s what you tell me! You don’t tell me the truth. You’ve been caught up with four or five lies already! So stop already! You’re not telling the truth.

LATTUCA
Right now, our answer to the U.S. Attorney is gonna be that you are not cooperating. You are not telling us everything you know. You’re not. You’re just not. I don’t believe that this is your first time coming into the country with drugs. I’m telling you now, I don’t believe what you’re telling me.

MITCH
That’s okay, but I’m telling you.

LATTUCA
Okay.

LATTUCA
We’re getting ready to wrap this up. Is there anything else you want to tell us? Nothing?

MITCH
I have nothing else to say.

LATTUCA
Okay.

LATTUCA
We did everything we can to work with you tonight. You’re gonna regret this when you’re sitting in a cell in the metropolitan detention center. You’re gonna regret not talking to us and telling us the truth. ’Cause you’re gonna have a problem. You’re not gonna like it there when you get there. It’s not a nice place. It really isn’t.

LATTUCA
For our purpose today, and probably for his criminal record for the rest of his life here in the United States, he’s going to be Mitch. He’s going to be booked as Mitch, he’s gonna be identified as Mitch. 

LATTUCA
If he comes in under a different name, it won’t really matter because his fingerprints are never gonna lie. He comes in again, we print him, Mitch comes up. He can use whatever name he wants—he’ll always be Mitch here.







FINN
I’m gonna respect you, I’m gonna talk to you like you have a brain. Don’t give me answers like I don’t have a brain. What is that?

DANIELLE
It’s a death certificate.

FINN
For who?

DANIELLE
It’s um... his grandfather.

ELIAS
I went through the bag again. You know, sometimes we look for like—a little paper trail? I found this death certificate, and she seems to know nothing about it.

FINN
Why do you have his grandfather’s stuff here?

DANIELLE
I probably just grabbed it by accident.

FINN
Don’t give me [bleep] answers. I know that ain’t true. Why do you have his death certificate?

DANIELLE
I have it ’cause there was a death in the family, but I didn’t make it to it, but he said just bring it just in case.

FINN
Bring it to who? And bring it just in case of what?

DANIELLE
Just bring it with me…

FINN
For what, for a souvenir of your trip to Guyana?

DANIELLE
No...

FINN
So, what? Why would you have this?

DANIELLE
He just said bring it with you.

FINN
Okay. And that’s the final answer. He just said bring it with you here, then? Here, this is how you remember your trip to Guyana A lovely death certificate of my grandfather. Take this with you. Frame it.

DANIELLE
No, he just said that, um… Usually, you know, if you have a death in the family, That um...you produce a death certificate, you know, if somebody asks you…

FINN
Okay, but you don’t have a death in the family. Do I look stupid? It’s all [bleep]. And I’m getting sick of hearing it.

BOWLES
She’s falling apart. And she can’t think of anything better to say but he gave me a death certificate to bring back. Why? Most people bring death certificates back to prove a death! Not because some guy just told me. That does not sit well with me.

BOWLES
Your story, for lack of a better term, is complete garbage—it doesn’t make sense.

BOWLES
I think it was part of a cover story. “Here, show that you went to Guyana for a funeral.” And she just forgot about that part.

BOWLES
And you’re in this room for a specific reason. What we do all day every day—is my unit does narcotics. We look for drugs all day every day.

DANIELLE
Mm-hmm.

BOWLES
And um, we think you have drugs on your body. You’re showing signs of nervousness that are very pronounced.

DANIELLE
’Cause I never been through this before.

BOWLES
What, talking? Up until now…

DANIELLE
Being in a room full of cops, in New York, at an airport.

BOWLES
Up until now, I’m the one that dropped what we’re looking for. Everything else was just routine questioning that you’re not giving good answers for.

BOWLES
Her answers are—they just don’t make sense. It’s inconsistent; she has no reason to be in the country. Put everything together, she’s a prime candidate to be a smuggler.

BOWLES
Right now it’s not looking too good for you. Let me be very clear You’re not gonna leave this room until we’re clear that you don’t have anything in your body.

DANIELLE
Okay.

BOWLES
Period. You’re not leaving until we’re sure that you don’t have anything. So let’s remove that—maybe I can talk my way out of this room. It’s not gonna happen.



ENID
Uh, where are you coming from?

MAN
Kuwait.

ENID
Kuwait?

ENID
When passengers come into the United States, they’re handed a declaration. We then ask them again, give them a chance to orally amend their declarations.

ENID
This way, ma’am. You speak English?

WOMAN
No.

ENID
If we find something that’s prohibited, we just take it away. In the last five years, CBP has made over 100,000 agricultural seizures.

ENID
What kind of food do you have in your bags?

WOMAN
Spice, and uh...

ENID
What kind of spices?

WOMAN
Spice rice.

ENID
Could you put this bag on, please, for me? Any of the bags that have rice, you have to tell me. Just rice?

WOMAN
Yeah, just rice!

ENID
Does the second bag have rice?

MAN
Yes.

ENID
Thank you. Ma’am. Ma’am!

WOMAN
Sorry, sorry, sorry!

OFFICER1
These three bags are your bags?

WOMAN
Yeah, yeah. This one and this one.

OFFICER1
Okay, okay.

OFFICER2
Oh, no.

ENID
Okay.

OFFICER2
You are bringing tomatoes, lemon, fresh leaves.

WOMAN
This is from my garden.

OFFICER2
Yeah, I understand this is from your garden, but they’re not allowed.

ENID
It’s usually, I didn’t know. I don’t know. Oh, I didn’t realize. I didn’t understand. I don’t—no English.

ENID
Okay, this is the passenger that declared from Kuwait only spice and rice. So, as you can see, we have onions, we have citrus, we have tomatoes, and we also have—this is a fresh spice.

WOMAN
Just one!

ENID
Ma’am, do not ask a federal officer to not abide by the law. You’ll get in trouble.

WOMAN
It’s honey, honey.

OFFICER2
Honey’s okay.

ENID
Do you want to amend your declaration and tell us everything you have? Well if you don’t, you’ll get a fine.

WOMAN
Sorry, sorry.

ENID
Not sorry. What else do you have?

ENID
So in this case, all of these items were not declared. Again, it’s up to the officer as to what they want to do beyond taking these.

WOMAN
What can I do?

ENID
We seize, but we educate. And we hope the education hits home, so we don’t have to constantly do that.

WOMAN
Thank you, bye-bye.

ENID
I would love to have X-ray vision and do my job in half the time. But it does kind of spoil the surprise.


BOWLES
I want you to understand the severity of what’s going on in here. If you do have it, like I said, now’s the only chance to help yourself.

FINN
I said, oh, what a tangled web we weave. By the time you’re on your tenth lie, you don’t remember the first lie you told about, you know, 15 minutes ago, so...and that’s where she’s at right now.

BOWLES
Right now, you’re just a—if you have it in your body, you’re just like a...don’t take offense, you’re a tool, you’re a method of concealment. They’re using you to bring it into the country. Um, it’s not yours. When we can’t offer any assistance whatsoever is when we find it.

BOWLES
Right now I’m gonna ask you flat-out. Did anybody ask you to bring anything here? Did anybody give you anything to swallow—anything to ingest? Do you have anything in your stomach?

DANIELLE
No.

BOWLES
Now I think you’re lying straight to my face.

BOWLES
Everything that you have, or you may have, is yours. You take the whole weight for it. So whoever’s over in Guyana, is scot-free, walking around, while you’re taking away from their loll. You keep that in mind. Either way, I go home, I eat lunch. You’re not leaving for a while.

BOWLES
The reason I stepped out is it actually bothered me that she’s not realizing—I don’t think she has the capacity to realize what the hell’s going on in there.

BOWLES
See what Finn’s doing, and then, go another route.

ELIAS
Maybe less people in there?

BOWLES
See if she’s comfortable with something else.

FINN
Might be time to switch it up a little bit. And kinda coddle her a little bit. And see how she responds to that approach.

FINN
We see this every day. We see people like you every day. And we see people like you that have drugs in their stomach every day.

DANIELLE
Mm-hmm.

FINN
And some we can help. But the stubborn ones, that want to sit here and tell, I don’t got nothing, I don't got nothing, take me for the X-ray—we can’t help those people. There’s nothing we can do for them. There’s nothing we can do for you when we take you to that doctor, and the doctor tells us, “There’s the evidence, right there in her stomach.” You’re done at that point.

FINN
You can’t backpedal any further right now. People make mistakes. People make bigger mistakes when they continue to lie. 

FINN
You can come forward. But the backpedaling is over. Your mistake will get deeper.

FINN
How many did you swallow?

DANIELLE
I swear to you, I didn’t swallow anything.

FINN
Did you insert anything?

DANIELLE
No.

FINN
Danielle. Did you insert anything?






FINN
The backpedaling is over. Your mistake will get deeper.

ELIAS
Finn right now—he’s got her on the ropes, and she’s ready to fall.

FINN
Don’t make this bad for yourself—please. How many did you swallow?

DANIELLE
I swear to you, I didn’t swallow anything.

FINN
Did you insert anything?

FINN
Did you insert something?

DANIELLE
Yeah.

FINN
Do you know if it’s cocaine, or heroin?

DANIELLE
I don’t know but… All I know is that when I got down there if I didn’t do it, they was gonna kill me.

FINN
Okay. Can you take it out yourself? You can? Okay—I’m gonna have two females in here, alright? Take it out.

FINN
Different approach kinda worked. A little bit of a softer tone, and I think she realized that she was at the end of her rope, and there was really nowhere else for her to go but to admit what was going on. Because she realized we were serious, and we were gonna find out no matter what.

ELIAS
Danielle, you did the right thing, alright, by telling us? Okay?

DANIELLE
I was scared.



BOWLES
When you realize that when the game is up—the gig is up—and you have no other options, it’s in your best interest to tell us what’s going on. Because we’re gonna find it.


SAINT
Got it out, it looks like coke. It’s pretty decent size.

FINN
Okay, good. Thank you.

SAINT
Uh, the passenger had the package inserted in her vagina. We’ve seen a lot of cases where the female will actually insert it in their vagina, or in their rectum. Um, it’s an easier method to conceal.

ELIAS
Let’s see it.

FINN
Dress, show?

SAINT
Yeah.

ELIAS
Okay.

SAINT
It’s wrapped in a, it looks like one or two condoms, perhaps. It looks white, so it’s probably, will be cocaine. We’ll have to clean it up, test it.

BOWLES
You made a smart decision—we would’ve found it sooner or later.

BOWLES
She definitely made a mistake by trying to smuggle narcotics into the United States. But by telling us what’s really going on, she helps herself a great deal. Don’t think of it just legally; she helps herself physically.

BOWLES
You don’t know what’s in that package. It could burst; it could spill; it could cause major damage inside; she can have a heart attack. She could pass away.

ELIAS
Looks like coke. Alright, Danielle, you’re under arrest for the importation of narcotics into the United States, okay?

FINN
Stand up.

ELIAS
Do you understand that? Just turn around while I cuff you, for your own safety and our own safety.

ELIAS
She is going to go to jail. She’s someone who made a really big mistake, and today was the wrong day to do it.

ELIAS
Okay, just have a seat, please.

DANIELLE
Alright.

ELIAS
To the left, please.

DANIELLE
Really struggling financially…I didn’t really know exactly what was going on until I got into Guyana. By the time you’re there, it’s too late. It’s too late. If I was more aware of what was going on, I would have never gone out there.

FINN
A seizure’s a seizure, and we got the drugs off the street, and we did our job.

BOWLES
I got an e-mail. Great job. And it’s addressed to you, myself, Finn, yada yada. Saint, everybody. So, good job. News travels fast.

ELIAS
Typical smuggler, you know. She’s not—I don’t think she’s a user or anything like that. Simply straight for the money. You know, she’s just down on her luck. And you know, that’s...that’s the story.

FINN
She’s gonna go to jail. So hopefully it doesn’t ruin the rest of her life, and maybe she realizes that she made a mistake, and she’ll learn from it, and you know, get everything together for her life after her jail stint.

FINN
In terms of sympathy, I kinda have a little bit of sympathy for everyone we catch. But, you know, we gotta do our jobs.