Thread: Auto theft and drug smuggling: an inside look

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Lorraine Rivera Reports
Auto theft and drug smuggling: an inside look

Posted: Feb 21, 2008 01:01 PM PST

A weekday morning, Sgt. Dave Azuelo patrols a southside apartment complex looking for stolen vehicles. "Many times when someone steals a truck they're going to use for smuggling, they'll drop off close to the interstate, traveling routes and the state routes that lead out of town and to the border."

He leads the Arizona Auto Theft Task Force in Tucson through the city and the desert, to areas where thieves dump stolen vehicles. "Some of the vehicles that the smugglers really like are the 3/4 ton trucks, for obvious reasons... They can carry large loads."

Azuelo spots what he thinks may be a stolen truck. Sometimes they're parked backwards or in two spaces, a way to stay off the radar or tip off whoever is making the pick up.

"It's not the like the old days where you smash the window and draw a lot of attention," says Azuelo. "It's not like that it's far more sophisticated."

He runs plate numbers in his laptop. So far, nothing is stolen. But a tracking system inside this highway patrol car detects a truck that is. We watch and wait.

Officers draw their weapons, the suspect in handcuffs--his wife in tears. "When we rolled up he was underneath the steering column hotwiring the truck to get it moving. He didn't have keys. He's not registered owner," Azuelo said.

It turns out the man is an illegal immigrant who's going to jail. In 2006, more than 54,800 vehicles were reported stolen in Arizona, 9,592 of those from Pima County.







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A lot of those that are higher up buy cheap cars/trucks and give them to their "friends" who transport the drugs for them so they get a free car and money in their pocket if they don't get caught.
Often if they want to move a large load they will set up a smaller one and send it on it's way only to call LE and report the vehicle hoping they will be too busy and just bust the smaller load and the larger will make it through, the loss of the drugs is just the cost of doing business and no thought is given to the driver who winds up in jail.
Smuggling is big business and it is ran very simular to one, from the CEO all the way down to the works on the streets, druggies are often the runners hoping to make some quick money for their habit.
These guys not only need to worry about LE catching them but also being robbed from others who want to steal the drugs from them and sell it themselves.

Well that's pretty racist of them to arrest him when he's only trying to better his family. AFter all, he's just a mis-understood good hearted person and we shouldn't seperate his family.

Somebody pass me the barf bag because i'm gonna make myself puke!

Throw the book at this idiot and get him the hell out of our country.