AGENT OFFICER OFFICER_ACOSTA OFFICER_ARCHUT OFFICER_BOCAILLE OFFICER_BUSA OFFICER_HERNANDEZ_VALENTIN OFFICER_LARA OFFICER_NIKIRK OFFICER_RODRIGUEZ OFFICER_SAJIB OFFICER_TREVIZO OFFICER_YBARRA SPECIAL_AGENT_CONNOR SPECIAL_AGENT_DANIELLE SUPERVISORY_OFFICER_ADAMS SUPERVISORY_OFFICER_CICCONE SUPERVISORY_SPECIAL_AGENT_ERIHK TRAVELER SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR Okay. Did we find out where he's going? Right now? All right. One of my teammates has identified a car that we think has narcotics inside of it. It's already in San Diego County. We're not far from the border and we're hoping to find it here on the highway, catch up to it, and, uh, figure out where it's going. This is a common occurrence for us, um, daily even. Tijuana, Mexico is a high trafficking area and San Diego, being its first port of entry into the United States makes us the thoroughfare for bulk, uh, smuggling. That's them right there. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR It's a gray sedan. Committed Five North. AGENT Copy. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR He's going from lane three into lane four. Speed's about seventy. He slowed down on me pretty quick. I came up on him fast and I'm almost neck and neck with him. Off, off, off. Palm. Off, off, off. AGENT I got him. AGENT You go westbound on Palm. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR We're still in San Diego County and he made a fairly quick exit. Just trying to figure out which way he wants to go. AGENT Just passed Sixteenth Street. AGENT Heading westbound on Palm. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR At this point, we just, uh, work together as a team and make sure that we can continue to follow it. But we also need to be ready for any contingency and develop a plan for if someone comes to remove the drugs here. We need to be prepared for enforcement action. AGENT Looks like he's turning into the little storefront. AGENT A fitness center. AGENT Yeah, it looks like he's getting a parking spot. AGENT Directly in front of the physical therapy business. AGENT I'll just keep an eye for now. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR At this point, it's a waiting game. It's making sure that nobody interacts with that car, um, and that these drugs don't leave that car. How long that is? It can be hours, it can be days. But paramount is making sure that these drugs never hit the street. OFFICER How you doing, sir? TRAVELER Hi. How are you today? OFFICER Not too bad. Can you open the trunk? It's clear. SUPERVISORY OFFICER CICCONE Today, traffic is heavy. We have every lane open. SUPERVISORY OFFICER CICCONE Pretty decent wait time right now. OFFICER ACOSTA We're in Pre-Primary. OFFICER ACOSTA We're a part of the Mobile Enforcement Team, so we're just gonna see if anything stands out. SUPERVISORY OFFICER CICCONE What're you bringing in? Anything at all? TRAVELER No. SUPERVISORY OFFICER CICCONE Okay. We'll see you up at the booth, okay? TRAVELER Okay. SUPERVISORY OFFICER CICCONE Roving like this helps the operation, 'cause it takes some of the pressure off the officers that are working the line. OFFICER [speaking Spanish] Good afternoon. Where are you going? SUPERVISORY OFFICER CICCONE So what my team does is we check as many cars as we can while we're up here. We try and do it as quickly as we can. 'Cause it'll ease them up a little bit, knowing that we've already checked the majority of the cars. OFFICER [speaking Spanish] Do you always use this car? TRAVELER [speaking Spanish] Yes. OFFICER [speaking Spanish] Guns? Drugs? OFFICER I'm good. OFFICER YBARRA We use our tools, we use our K9, we use our interview skills. Trying to find a narcotics smuggler or currency smuggler. Anything like that. OFFICER Good boy. There's something there, huh? OFFICER TREVIZO So the dog is showing interest. Bottom. Could be gas tank. Spare tire. OFFICER Good boy. Good boy. OFFICER TREVIZO Hello. What is your citizenship? TRAVELER I'm a U.S. citizen. OFFICER TREVIZO Purpose of your trip in Mexico today? TRAVELER Uh, I was visiting my family. OFFICER TREVIZO Okay. How long were you over there? TRAVELER Uh, a few hours. OFFICER TREVIZO And you took this vehicle to Mexico? TRAVELER Uh, it's actually my uncle's car. OFFICER TREVIZO If it's your uncle's, uh, vehicle, when did you borrow it? TRAVELER Uh, this morning. OFFICER TREVIZO This morning? From Mexico? OFFICER TREVIZO So how did you go to Mexico? TRAVELER Oh, I had my car, but it overheated. OFFICER TREVIZO Uh-huh. TRAVELER So it's in the shop. OFFICER TREVIZO Okay, so you left it in the shop. The guy was nervous. He was grasping to the wheel, sweating. There's no eye contact at all. Are you bringing any fruits? Any liquor? TRAVELER No. OFFICER TREVIZO Cigarettes? TRAVELER No. OFFICER TREVIZO Nothing illegal, prohibited? TRAVELER No. OFFICER TREVIZO Firearms? Narcotics? TRAVELER Nothing. OFFICER TREVIZO Nothing. Okay. Can you roll down the back window? TRAVELER Oh, it doesn't work, but it's open. OFFICER TREVIZO Okay. If I feel there's something there, I gotta stop it here. And since K9 showed interest on the vehicle, we're gonna send it to secondary. Go ahead and proceed. Pre-Primary alert, going to secondary. We're gonna take it in for inspection. OFFICER What's going on, boss? Can I see your passport? SUPERVISORY OFFICER ADAMS Philadelphia is a large, sprawling international airport, so we get flights from pretty much every part of, uh, of the continent of Europe and from Asia and Africa. OFFICER Do you ever travel with over ten thousand dollars? TRAVELER Ten thousand dollars? OFFICER Yeah. TRAVELER No. TRAVELER I don't carry that much money. OFFICER Welcome back, all right? TRAVELER Thank you. OFFICER Have a good day. SUPERVISORY OFFICER ADAMS Where are you coming in from today, sir? TRAVELER I'm coming in from Palestine. SUPERVISORY OFFICER ADAMS Very nice. And how long were you there? TRAVELER A whole month. SUPERVISORY OFFICER ADAMS I'm in charge of the Passenger Enforcement Special Operations team. Otherwise known as P.E.S.O. Family there? TRAVELER Yup. My whole, my fiance's there, um, working on her business degree. SUPERVISORY OFFICER ADAMS Oh, congratulations. TRAVELER Thank you, yeah. SUPERVISORY OFFICER ADAMS Not only are we looking for narcotics, but we're also looking for anything that has some nexus or other to the international trade. All right, my friend, see you later. TRAVELER See you. SUPERVISORY OFFICER ADAMS Person, place, or thing. If it's coming in or going out of the United States and it's coming through the port of Philadelphia, we pretty much touch it. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ So how you doing today? TRAVELER I'm good, thank you. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ All right. Where are you coming from? TRAVELER The U.K., London. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ All right, what's, what are you bringing into the United States today? TRAVELER Sportswear. A few samples. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ He came up to the primary officer and when they asked "What's your purpose of travel today?" He said, "Business." And one question we do follow up with is "Are you bringing any sample products?" So what is your exact reason that you're coming in with these samples? What's happening? TRAVELER We produce products for athletes. TRAVELER And service personnel. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ And the purpose of your meeting, what do you plan to accomplish? TRAVELER Uh, hopefully it's to deal with Penn State athletics for 900 of their athletes to. TRAVELER Supply them with our products. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ So you're promoting your product into the United States? TRAVELER Correct. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ Okay. We have policies when it comes to bringing samples into the United States. The items are supposed to be dismembered somehow, so they either have to have their tags ripped off or cut. They should just be something that you can look at and not want to purchase right away. This stuff is something that I can actually go to a store and I would purchase. In the exact wrap and everything. What's the price of these? TRAVELER Uh, so retail, the gloves you just opened go for $49. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ Forty-nine dollars? U.S. dollars? For a glove? And what about these? What's the price of them? TRAVELER That one is a hundred and twelve retail. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ So a hundred and twelve retail? Okay. From the way it looks here to me, these are all brand new. TRAVELER Correct. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ If you're coming in with merchandise, that has to be done in the proper way. You should have had a form filled out that you're bringing stuff into United States as samples. And it should have been filed through the airlines. Unfortunately, the products, they're packed perfectly for retail sale. He hasn't filled out any of the forms and he was supposed to pay a payment of duty on items being imported into the United States, which he has not. There's no guarantee that you are not gonna sell these items today. There's no way you can prove that to me right now, can you? TRAVELER Nope. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ So� TRAVELER If you're here tomorrow evening, I can show them to you. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ So it's not just the tags. I'm actually gonna cut a slash through each of your items that you're bringing in. This might be a nightmare for you, but it's gonna happen. [COMMERCIAL BREAK] TRAVELER This is the painful thing. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ As I said, I know it's gonna hurt but this is what it is. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ The items he brought in, the way they looked today you can buy. And to make sure that those items weren't being sold on the black market or he's not making any type of employment here illegally, we have to dismember those items. TRAVELER So in the future, the samples need to have holes in them? OFFICER RODRIGUEZ They should be defective in some way that it's not gonna show me that you're planning on retailing them here in the United States. TRAVELER Right. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ A lot of people come in not understanding our laws or not being aware of it. The fingertips of the gloves should have been cut off, but still attached to the label. That would have been Okay. This job is not for everyone. We cannot get emotionally attached to anything that we do. We have to be professional, we have to be stern, we have to implement our laws honestly. All right. I am very happy with my inspection. You can go ahead and pack everything up. I get it. He's a small business owner. Everyone starts off somewhere. But it just wasn't allowed today. TRAVELER Thank you. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ You too. Have a good day. TRAVELER Thank you. OFFICER TREVIZO Okay, sir, at my pace. Go to number four, please. OFFICER TREVIZO K9 showed interest in the back area. OFFICER TREVIZO He says it's his uncle's vehicle, but then, you know, we've had those stories in the past. Go ahead and step out of the vehicle. Unlock everything, please. OFFICER BOCAILLE We're doing a seven point of the vehicle. What we're checking for is contraband. OFFICER BOCAILLE We're making sure that, uh, these travelers are not bringing drugs into the United States. Any meth, any cocaine. They tend to hide drugs in the front of the vehicle. Sometimes they have false compartments. OFFICER TREVIZO Check it right there. OFFICER Negative. OFFICER TREVIZO It could be the tire, gas tank, bumper. Sounds pretty good. OFFICER BOCAILLE All right, so let's Z-Portal this vehicle. OFFICER You're good to go. OFFICER TREVIZO The Z-Portal operator does not see any anomalies, so we are gonna go ahead and release the vehicle. Have a good day. TRAVELER Thank you. OFFICER TREVIZO Bye-bye. Even though the dog alerted, it doesn't mean that it was the vehicle itself. There's other surroundings. In this case, there was a, a car in front of him that the guy admitted to smoking. So the dog would have picked up the wind. [SNAP IN] OFFICER NIKIRK Are these your bags? TRAVELER Yeah. OFFICER NIKIRK Any food? TRAVELER Nope. OFFICER NIKIRK Uh, any purchases, gifts, or anything like that? Uh, commercial goods? TRAVELER Nope, nothing at all. OFFICER NIKIRK I stopped this gentleman at a part in the airport because he had about four or five big boxes and he said they were full of clothes and that seemed kind of odd to me. Usually, you put your clothes in a suitcase. You got my favorite visa. You got an O visa. TRAVELER Oh, yeah. OFFICER NIKIRK So you're outstanding in your field? What do you do? TRAVELER I program CC machines. TRAVELER In the medical industry. TRAVELER The automobile industry. TRAVELER And I work for this company. TRAVELER And they sell the stuff there. TRAVELER Where I program the CC machines. OFFICER NIKIRK So you say you say you have what in these boxes? TRAVELER So, one is my motocross gear. OFFICER NIKIRK Okay. TRAVELER And the other one is the motorcycle gear. TRAVELER And then there should be the one with just normal clothing. Yeah. OFFICER NIKIRK How long have you had the O-One visa? TRAVELER About three years, yeah. OFFICER NIKIRK You've been in the United States that long? TRAVELER No. TRAVELER So the longest time was like four and a half months. OFFICER NIKIRK Ah. I wanted to make sure he has a reason to be here that long and he does. He's an expert in his field. My favorite visa, 'cause you usually meet some interesting people. TRAVELER That is my motocross gear. OFFICER SAJIB I got it. Just take a couple steps back for me. Thanks. When I'm done you can go ahead, pack this stuff up. OFFICER NIKIRK Here, I'm gonna let you pack that up and I'm gonna get some tape. I don't know how you, how you want to put that in. Sorry we had to open them. You don't see this very often, so when I see it, it piques my interest. The baggage exam was negative and off he went. OFFICER SAJIB What's your favorite German car company? TRAVELER Audi. OFFICER SAJIB That's the wrong answer. We're gonna have to seize all this stuff. OFFICER NIKIRK That form in your hand? TRAVELER Yeah? OFFICER NIKIRK Give it to the. OFFICER SAJIB Give it to the officer at the exit. [END OF SNAP IN] AGENT He crosses about once a week. AGENT And I show he's in the U.S. anywhere from six to seven hours. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR At this point, we've identified this car through investigative means and we are currently set up on this gloriously sunny day in San Diego. We're waiting to see if someone else comes for it or if this vehicle moves again. San Diego doesn't see this kind of weather, not very often, so it affects everybody. How people drive, how people walk. All of that matters to us. So being able to do surveillance and enforcement action, uh, thwarting smuggling attempts while at the same time maintaining public safety is-is our number one goal. But with rain like this, with low visibility, it definitely adds, uh, a challenge, um, and it's just not any fun. AGENT Uh, the guy in the Dodge Ram. AGENT Glanced over in the direction of V-One. AGENT Uh, and they're sitting in the car, nose in, facing towards our, uh, V-One. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR That's, um, about three lanes closer to us. The guy out of the Dodge is out. AGENT Black sweatshirt. Blue jeans. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR He got out of his pickup truck, walked to the hood for one second, and then turned around and got right back in to the driver's seat. Door closed. He may be checking the lot for law enforcement or checking the security of the load vehicle. AGENT The black Hyundai Elantra circled the lot twice. AGENT Like, looking at cars parked. AGENT A couple aisles over, but facing the V-One. AGENT It's a blacked out sedan. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR We've already identified two vehicles now in the lot. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR We're trying to see if they're connected to our vehicle. Blue pickup's driver door is open. Okay. Suitcase coming out of the Dodge Ram. There's a suitcase that's walking over to the black Elantra. Just went into the black Elantra and now that Elantra's getting ready to move. Does someone wanna take that away and try to stop it? AGENT Yeah, I'm thinking stop that Elantra. AGENT Probably gonna be going eastbound on Silver Strand. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR Oh, we're running. [COMMERCIAL BREAK] AGENT We saw a suitcase transfer. AGENT Hey, I'm right behind the Elantra. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR Stick with it. AGENT Currently westbound. AGENT You've got three additional units. AGENT Ten-four. AGENT Eastbound on. AGENT Correction, westbound on Donax. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR Went the wrong way. Go, go, go. AGENT Nowhere. AGENT I don't have an eye on the car. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR They got away. Well that's frustrating. OFFICER BUSA Today we have some inbound flights coming and we're looking for, uh, people to possibly rove for baggage exams. Where are you coming back from? TRAVELER Uh, Jordan. OFFICER BUSA Any expensive gifts you're bringing back or anything? TRAVELER No. OFFICER BUSA We're mainly seeing a lot of under-declared merchandise to avoid taxation. A lot of fancy new purchases that people are wearing. Counterfeit items, stuff like that. OFFICER How are you doing, ma'am? Can I see your passport, please? I'm gonna take a quick look in your bags and I'll get you out of here. Follow me. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ Where are you coming from? TRAVELER Amsterdam. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ Amsterdam. What were you doing there? TRAVELER Having a good time. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ A good time. That's good. Can you please put all your bags in here, please? Did you buy any merchandise during Amsterdam? TRAVELER Yes, and I declared it and put it on the form. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ But do you have the receipt? TRAVELER What I have. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ The proof of what you buying there? TRAVELER They took that. TRAVELER When I was leaving Amsterdam. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ Sorry. Okay. TRAVELER On the form that I just gave the lady, I remembered everything. TRAVELER And I listed it. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ I got it. So you put everything in the custom, in the global entry receipt? TRAVELER Yeah. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ Did you declare everything in there? TRAVELER Yes. I. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ And how much is one, how much was? TRAVELER One thousand six twenty-four. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ Every time that a traveler travels back to the United States and get back, they have to declare and pay the duty. This is the thing that you buy, right? During Amsterdam? TRAVELER Yes, and that's what I claimed. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ Okay. Okay. All right. TRAVELER Now, you can't get that back can you? OFFICER RODRIGUEZ No. I will try. I will try. TRAVELER I'm just messing with you. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ So we appreciate that you take your time to be honest and declare everything. So today we're gonna wave you the duty of two percent that is twenty four seventy-two. TRAVELER Okay. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ All right? TRAVELER Thank you. Thank you. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ You're welcome. Have a good one, okay? TRAVELER All right, you take care. OFFICER RODRIGUEZ You're welcome. OFFICER ACOSTA We're just looking for any vehicles, any person that's going out of their way not to be noticed. See if anything stands out. OFFICER LARA Hello. How you doing today? OFFICER LARA [speaking Spanish] How are you doing? OFFICER LARA [speaking Spanish] Do you cross often or no? TRAVELER [speaking Spanish] About two times a week. OFFICER LARA Oh, okay. OFFICER LARA [speaking Spanish] What do you do for work? TRAVELER [speaking Spanish] I'm a psychologist. TRAVELER And I sell purses. OFFICER LARA [speaking Spanish] You sell purses? TRAVELER [speaking Spanish] Yes, I take a lot of merchandise. OFFICER LARA [speaking Spanish] Is that why you have tinted windows? TRAVELER No. OFFICER LARA [speaking Spanish] So they don't see you? TRAVELER [speaking Spanish] I'm sensitive to the sun. OFFICER LARA [speaking Spanish] Oh, yes? TRAVELER [speaking Spanish] So it doesn't shine on me too hard. OFFICER LARA Oh, okay. OFFICER LARA [speaking Spanish] Uh, how much money do you have with you? TRAVELER [speaking Spanish] Three thousand dollars. OFFICER LARA [speaking Spanish] Three thousand dollars, okay, perfect. OFFICER LARA [speaking Spanish] I'm going to check back here, okay? OFFICER LARA She says she buys purses, resells them, so we'll see what we find. See if she's telling the truth. OFFICER LARA [speaking Spanish] Why do you have a battery charger? TRAVELER [speaking Spanish] It's just that my husband. OFFICER LARA [speaking Spanish] Does he buy cars or what? TRAVELER [speaking Spanish] Yes. OFFICER LARA [speaking Spanish] Are you also coming to buy a car today? TRAVELER No. OFFICER LARA Okay. OFFICER LARA [speaking Spanish] Do you have your cash on you? TRAVELER [speaking Spanish] Yes. OFFICER LARA [speaking Spanish] Can you please take it out? OFFICER LARA [speaking Spanish] This is all you have here? OFFICER LARA [speaking Spanish] This is all your money? TRAVELER [speaking Spanish] Yes. TRAVELER [speaking Spanish] Oh, I also have an envelope. OFFICER LARA [speaking Spanish] Oh, an envelope? TRAVELER [speaking Spanish] Yes. OFFICER LARA Okay. OFFICER LARA [speaking Spanish] What's the envelope for? TRAVELER [speaking Spanish] It's also my husband's. OFFICER LARA [speaking Spanish] Maybe he forgot it. TRAVELER [speaking Spanish] Yes. OFFICER LARA [speaking Spanish] Why do you have it in an envelope here? OFFICER LARA [speaking Spanish] And you don't have it with the rest of the money? TRAVELER [speaking Spanish] That's how it was left for him. I just picked it up. OFFICER LARA Okay. OFFICER LARA [speaking Spanish] You don't have any more money hidden on your body? TRAVELER No. OFFICER LARA [speaking Spanish] Pass ahead. She knew she had that money she just wasn't gonna declare it. The cartels, they're bringing, uh, currency into the United States, they're choosing younger people. We're just gonna take it to the secondary inspection area. Verify it's her currency, it's not illicit. OFFICER BOCAILLE Just go ahead and follow this officer. OFFICER LARA If you get a person and they're lying about how much currency they have, it's a red flag. OFFICER LARA [speaking Spanish] Come this way, miss. [speaking English] Can you check the purse? She might have more somewhere else. OFFICER What's this? OFFICER LARA Some more, some more currency. All right, let's get to it. For the cartels, currency doesn't just come out of the United States it also comes in because they've got to fund themselves. The cartels will target younger individuals trying to get them to bring small amounts of, uh, currency. Like, "Hey, bring in these five thousand dollars, you get five hundred bucks." OFFICER We got a total of thirty-eight sixty with all this. OFFICER LARA Oh, okay. Just trying to find more. OFFICER LARA Looks like she has receipts. OFFICER LARA For all the different cars that they buy. It's a legitimate business. They export vehicles out of the United States. I'm good with the inspection. Turned it out, we didn't find any more currency. That's fine. Good to go. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR While setting up on, on the vehicle that we believe has narcotics inside of it, um, we identified two vehicles in the parking lot that we thought may have been connected to ours. Maybe a pickup crew or a second driver for our vehicle. But what we saw while waiting for them to interact with our vehicle was a handoff of a suitcase. We thought that it might be a transfer of bulk narcotics, just, um, not the drugs that we were looking for. Most of our team is still back at the original vehicle and, uh, we're headed back there now to support them. AGENT Let's go ahead and take it down. AGENT Move in. AGENT Bust, bust, bust. AGENT Police. Hands up. [COMMERCIAL BREAK] AGENT Police. AGENT Stopped him. AGENT I got him. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR We're gonna unload our original vehicle. Dope's there. It has multiple substances in it. Looks like fentanyl and meth for certain. Maybe a third substance. AGENT I got the male in the Dodge Ram. SPECIAL AGENT DANIELLE He tried to leave and we blocked him in and we'll see how much more he's willing to cooperate. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR What do you got? AGENT They didn't want him to unload the vehicle. AGENT 'cause they don't want to risk him. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR Mm-hmm. AGENT So they said they were going to send someone else. AGENT To unload it. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR Okay. AGENT And then he was going to deliver it to another location. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR Okay. SPECIAL AGENT DANIELLE Based on initial communication, he was just supposed to meet here and be eyes on the lot, see if anything stood out. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR He had the keys to that vehicle. AGENT Oh, he did? SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR He did. AGENT Okay. Does he have them now? SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR No, because they're in the suitcase that he handed off. AGENT Okay. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR So he transferred an empty suitcase with the keys in it to her. She was supposed to unload the vehicle. I asked, "Why did she leave the lot if she was supposed to unload it?" And he said, uh, "I think she was just doing a lap to check around." Um. AGENT Wow. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR We were minutes away. Do you speak English? A little bit? It turns out that the original driver here may not be involved. It may be a family member that set him up. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR It is confusing. Um, it's confusing. There's a lot of moving pieces. They move very, very quickly. We followed a car that we thought had narcotics in it. We surveilled it for quite some time and then two other cars came into the lot. They appeared to be, uh, coordinating with each other and focused on our vehicle. These two were working in concert with each other to ultimately unload our car. And take the drugs out of that car and transport them, ultimately to L.A. Well, that makes more sense. We're pretty confident that we can identify the driver of that black Elantra that fled. We're still trying to find it. Um, hopefully still today. And then our original vehicle, uh, we're gonna tow this back to the port, get the drugs back, get them weighed, tested. And then we'll go from there and we'll get out of the rain. This is terrible. OFFICER ARCHUT Can I see your passport? What's the purpose of your trip here today? TRAVELER Uh, business. OFFICER ARCHUT All right, have a good day. TRAVELER Thank you. OFFICER ARCHUT How are you doing, ma'am? Can I see your passport? Where are you coming from today? TRAVELER From Turkey. Istanbul. OFFICER ARCHUT Are these all your bags? TRAVELER Yeah. OFFICER ARCHUT So is everything in all of these bags yours? TRAVELER Some are for kids, some are for my mom, my dad. TRAVELER They're just for friends. OFFICER ARCHUT Okay. All right, you wanna follow me? OFFICER BUSA We have a passenger returning with fifteen bags. With this amount of bags this is something you would normally see in a cargo container and not on a passenger arriving on an inbound flight. Now, what do you do for work? TRAVELER I work as a caregiver. OFFICER BUSA Is that local? TRAVELER Yeah. OFFICER BUSA Okay, do you do anything else for work? TRAVELER No, sir. OFFICER BUSA No. Okay. So Istanbul, you went for fun? TRAVELER I went for fun and then I just purchased this stuff. OFFICER BUSA Fun. Okay. That's a lot of stuff. TRAVELER Yeah. TRAVELER Over there, things are very cheap. OFFICER BUSA Turkey, they're known for having counterfeit merchandise and so people will come and buy those items in bulk and import them back into the U.S. with an intent to sell counterfeit items at a reduced rate to make a large profit. Do you, roughly, know what everything in the bags is? TRAVELER Yeah. OFFICER BUSA What's the total value? TRAVELER Probably less than two thousand or so. OFFICER BUSA Total value is two thousand U.S., approximately? TRAVELER Yeah, yeah. OFFICER BUSA Do you have any receipts? TRAVELER Receipts. TRAVELER No. TRAVELER Because, like, when you go to the shop. TRAVELER The shop that they have there, took cash only. OFFICER BUSA And how much do you have today? TRAVELER Nothing. OFFICER BUSA How much, nothing. So you spent, you spent two thousand dollars? TRAVELER Yes, sir. OFFICER ARCHUT Did you pack the bags yourself? TRAVELER Um, when you buy. OFFICER ARCHUT Yes, yes or no. Did you pack the bags yourself? TRAVELER No. OFFICER ARCHUT No. TRAVELER Some friends. OFFICER BUSA Okay. Friends in Turkey helped you pack? TRAVELER Yes. OFFICER BUSA Yeah. Were you there? TRAVELER Some I was, some I wasn't. OFFICER BUSA Okay. But everything in the bags is gonna belong to you. TRAVELER This stuff right now, yes, sir. OFFICER BUSA Okay, cool. We got some bags to check. SUPERVISORY OFFICER CICCONE Solo, senor? TRAVELER Huh? SUPERVISORY OFFICER CICCONE You're alone? TRAVELER Yes. SUPERVISORY OFFICER CICCONE Yeah. Who's car? TRAVELER It's mine. TRAVELER But it's under my grandpa's name. SUPERVISORY OFFICER CICCONE Okay. Pop the trunk for me. TRAVELER Okay. SUPERVISORY OFFICER CICCONE You're all set, man. Thank you. OFFICER ACOSTA I might check that out. OFFICER You're gonna take the Altima? OFFICER ACOSTA Yeah. [speaking Spanish] Where are you going? OFFICER ACOSTA [speaking Spanish] Can you open the back window, please? OFFICER ACOSTA [speaking Spanish] Doesn't go down? OFFICER ACOSTA [speaking Spanish] Okay, thank you. OFFICER ACOSTA I just noticed that there was a little bit of tampering on the backseat. That's when you gotta make the decision. So we'll take it back now. Send the Altima that's in this lane. SUPERVISORY OFFICER CICCONE Whenever we find what appears to be tampering underneath the backseats it's sometimes a good indication that the car has been modified for smuggling. OFFICER Move the vehicle to the secondary area. OFFICER ACOSTA At Z-Portal we got a twenty-ten Nissan Altima. OFFICER We try to find any kind of anomaly, something that doesn't look right, compare other images of the same vehicle. The anomalies that are popping out are the back of the seats. We'll check it out. OFFICER ACOSTA You can see that the seats have a backing right there. You'll encounter those seats that are hollowed out and they'll put narcotics in there. That is not normal. [COMMERCIAL BREAK] OFFICER ACOSTA Through there you can kind of see the bundles. OFFICER Here we go. OFFICER You got more, right here. OFFICER Tear it apart. OFFICER HERNANDEZ VALENTIN We're gonna look at every inch of the vehicle. We're gonna open doors, take the panels off. See if there's any more narcotics in the vehicle. There's nothing in here. We finished dismantling the vehicle. We couldn't find anymore narcotics other than the four bundles that we had already found. OFFICER Now we're gonna take one of those bundles and we're gonna go ahead and test it with our Gemini. You can see right there. So, it tests positive for cocaine. OFFICER Let's put this on the scale and see how much we have. OFFICER So we got four bundles. OFFICER Four point eight eight kilograms of cocaine. OFFICER ACOSTA [speaking Spanish] Can I have your money, please? OFFICER ACOSTA [speaking Spanish] Why are you carrying so much money? A lot of the ports here at El Paso, have been seeing a lot of money coming inbound from single females. OFFICER ACOSTA Payment to people in the U.S. for smuggling. In this case, she had around seven thousand two hundred dollars with her. We don't know if that's payment for this transaction or payment for, you know, other things. We got HSI here to talk to the subject and investigate it and see where that money is, is coming from. SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT ERIHK HSI special agents are interviewing the subject so we can determine steps we wanna take towards a prosecution. Here in El Paso, we are seeing a larger number of small amounts of narcotics being smuggled. SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT ERIHK Our assessment is it gives the cartels more of an opportunity to get it through. However, every load you take down at the port is that much dope you keep off the street. Four kilos of cocaine can be cut up so many times and distributed all over the country. It helps keep those communities safe. OFFICER BUSA Now is this stuff here that you bought? TRAVELER Yes. OFFICER BUSA It's, it's all clothes. And it's all name brand. OFFICER Does it have a price tag? OFFICER BUSA Yeah, a couple of them do. OFFICER BUSA She's just coming back from a visit from Turkey. She's got a ton of merchandise. Everything from A to Z is in these bags shirts, pants, shoes, perfume. We even found a vacuum cleaner in there. So we're pulling out anything that's in its original packaging or in, uh, still has tags on it. Because we know for a fact that they are not personal items. SUPERVISORY OFFICER ADAMS Does she have her clothes co-mingled? OFFICER ARCHUT Her personal stuff's mixed in. SUPERVISORY OFFICER ADAMS All of it's mixed in? OFFICER ARCHUT Yes. SUPERVISORY OFFICER ADAMS The co-mingling of items purchased outside of the United States with personal items that were once in the United States is a tactic we see frequently when people are trying to smuggle these items in. OFFICER BUSA This is a lot of clothes. Are you gonna be selling anything? TRAVELER Oh, no. They are old. That's why. OFFICER ARCHUT Even with the tags? TRAVELER Even with the tags. TRAVELER They have tags, but they're very old. They're used, all that is used. OFFICER ARCHUT Even with the stuff that's in the packages? TRAVELER Yes. OFFICER ARCHUT Here's the thing. OFFICER ARCHUT If most of this is old clothing, just your clothing. OFFICER ARCHUT And you went there for ten days. OFFICER ARCHUT Why did you need so much clothing? TRAVELER No, not for just me. TRAVELER Like I said, I have that for gifts to give to people. OFFICER SAJIB So how much did you pay for all your checked luggage fees? TRAVELER Three thousand. OFFICER SAJIB So do you understand what you're saying to us, it's really hard to believe. You would buy two thousand dollars' worth of merchandise to pay three thousand dollars just to bring it back to the U.S. TRAVELER I know you don't believe me, but I never do business. TRAVELER I never do nothing before, like business before. OFFICER SAJIB Mm-hmm. Okay. TRAVELER I wear some. I give some out. That's all. OFFICER SAJIB All right, miss. Look at that. We have watches too. Audemars Piguet. Do you know much a real Audemars Piguets are? We got a Breitling over here. Rolex. We're not done yet. [COMMERCIAL BREAK] OFFICER SAJIB She's got a whole bunch of high end watches. Rolex, Audemars, tags. It's not for her. OFFICER SAJIB This is a Breitling. This is approximately six thousand dollars. This is a TAG Heuer Carrera. This is five to six thousand dollars. A real Rolex, this would be over thirty thousand dollars. Just the watches alone, she's well over a hundred thousand dollars' worth of merchandise. OFFICER Is it real name-brand or fake name-brand? OFFICER SAJIB We would need an import specialist to come tell us, give us the official answer if they're counterfeit or not. OFFICER ARCHUT Right. SUPERVISORY OFFICER ADAMS The demand for legitimate high value goods is greater now than it ever has been. It creates a black market. But when people make a product, they put a lot of time into the research, development, and marketing of that product and they're due a fair price for their goods. So we take counterfeit goods very seriously. OFFICER Is this real or fake? TRAVELER Well, that I don't even know because, like. TRAVELER When I go there I think just, "Oh, this is nice." TRAVELER I don't ask them. OFFICER You don't ask them? TRAVELER I just like it, then buy it. OFFICER SAJIB Whether they're fake or not, you're importing the items. TRAVELER It's just something just for me to wear. It's not. OFFICER SAJIB Even if it's for you, you're importing them. OFFICER What is that? OFFICER It's a ledger. OFFICER SAJIB Looks like she knows somebody that has a shop here. That they sell this kind of stuff. She may just be acting as a courier for whoever she works for as a side. OFFICER BUSA Appears as though you're importing this stuff as cargo and we're gonna be detaining it. You're gonna have to get a customs broker and the customs broker is gonna have to itemize everything so you can pay all the applicable duties and fees necessary to import these items in the U.S., okay? TRAVELER So I'm gonna pay money? OFFICER BUSA Of course. You have to pay money to import merchandise like this. OFFICER BUSA Duty rates can go anywhere from one, two percent to three all the way up to twenty, thirty, forty percent depending on the country you're importing it from. The traveler did not declare everything and there were multiple commodities, so there's no telling right now how much that would cost her. OFFICER So how much is left, and what is what? OFFICER BUSA So finished bags are going over on any side on the end. Personal stuff in this. I'mma put this over here. SUPERVISORY OFFICER ADAMS Nothing was seized today. They are merely being put into the cargo system, so that our experts can determine whether they are legitimate or counterfeit. If they're not good and cannot be brought in then that's when the seizure takes place. OFFICER BUSA You gotta reach out to your airline and you gotta get a customs broker in regards to all this, okay? As long as you're transparent with us and you declare everything, we do try to help you as much as possible. And at the very least educate you for next time, so you know worst case scenario is you just pay some tax. Thank you for your time, ma'am. TRAVELER Okay, thank you. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR We're gonna start the seizing process, which will involve removing all the packages, testing, weighing, and then packaging them up for, um, for the vault. AGENT You gonna need another bag? AGENT Yeah. AGENT I got an extra bag if you need it. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR We have the drugs out of the vehicle now. We brought them over to this section here where we will test them to determine what substance they are. The first package tested positive for methamphetamine. Yeah. The pink line shows that it's positive for the, uh, characteristics of fentanyl. With the pills it's the same thing. AGENT Another fentanyl? SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR More fentanyl. More and more people are switching to a powder, but either way it's exceptionally dangerous stuff and we're getting a ton of overdoses. And we see it every day, literally every day, uh, multiple times a day. SPECIAL AGENT DANIELLE We did identify the driver that absconded. SPECIAL AGENT DANIELLE So we will get a warrant issued for her and be able to pick her up whenever she's located. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR It looks like ten point nine six keys of meth. SPECIAL AGENT CONNOR Two point three two keys of fentanyl powder and point eight two keys of pills. At the end of the day it's a good bust. We stopped a mixed load of drugs from hitting the streets. We have our main suspect in custody. And even though we have one that got away, we're working to get them in custody as well.