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* 11 pics at top of story. a video at the bottom of the story


Hide & Seize: Federal agents intercepting record amounts of drugs in Brownsville

March 11, 2009 - 9:48 PM
By Ildefonso Ortiz, The Brownsville Herald

As the war on drugs continues, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reports seizing record numbers of narcotics since the beginning of the agency's calendar year.

Attributing the upswing in seizures to the efforts of individual officers and the usage of high-tech devices, CBP Brownsville Port Director Michael Freeman said the amount of narcotics stopped at the border has put a "big dent" in the narcotics trade.

"So far this fiscal year we have seized a tremendous amount of illegal contraband coming into the United States," Freeman said. "The smugglers are getting frustrated with what's being apprehended at the border."

Since the beginning of the fiscal year on Oct. 1, CBP officers in Brownsville seized more than $40 million dollars worth of narcotics and made 51 arrests. All dollar amounts cited are the estimated value of the drugs if sold on the street to users.

The agency reports seizing 1,134 pounds of cocaine valued at $36.29 million and 2,022 pounds of marijuana valued at just more than $2 million. Other narcotics seized include 37 pounds of heroin valued at $2 million, 13 pounds of methamphetamines valued at $200,000 and 1,867 ecstasy pills valued at $37,000.

The most significant of those seizures took place Feb. 4 when field operations officers discovered a tractor-trailer with 560 pounds of cocaine hidden inside building bricks. The seizure was valued at $18 million.

"The one thing we can really attribute that to is the various tools and technologies available to us and the advanced training that our officers have," Freeman said. "We've introduced numerous advances in technology that allow the officers to detect all this contraband."

CBP's field operations officers have come across various unique ways to hide drugs.

In the vehicular lanes, officers have found narcotics inside hidden compartments throughout the vehicle's frame or in other areas, such as car batteries, drive shafts, tires, dashboards and seats.

In the passenger lanes, officers have found narcotics in suitcases, strapped to people or hidden in their clothing, and sewed into purses.

"They will even hide it on themselves, such as swallowing heroin capsules or even injecting it into their rectum to try to conceal the narcotics," Freeman said.

To counteract the imaginative ways of smuggling narcotics, CBP uses canines specially trained to detect narcotics, non-intrusive imaging equipment, density scanners and scopes.

"Whatever the latest technology is out there, we have it to deter contraband smuggling," he said.

Despite the high-tech equipment available to them, Freeman said that officer intuition is the number one asset to stop smuggling.

"They (officers) are constantly undergoing training to better detect the smuggling of contraband," the official said. "Once an officer makes a narcotic seizure, right away they start looking for the next one. As smugglers find new ways of concealing narcotics, we are on top of it."

After making a seizure, officers study the method of concealment and inform their fellow officers to be aware of which forms of smuggling are currently being used.

"Everything we seize is a hindrance on anyone's operation, whether it's the local street dealer to cartel organization," Freeman said.

VIDEO: See some of the examples drug smugglers are using to try and get narcotics across the border