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veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,504
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Drug smugglers becoming more creative, U.S. agents say
#10181099 - 04/16/09 09:37 PM (14 years, 10 months ago) |
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Drug smugglers becoming more creative,
U.S. agents say
April 16, 2009 - CNN
SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- Drug traffickers are throwing everything
they've got at getting drugs into the United States any way they can.
At the San Ysidro crossing near the Mexican border, officials have
found drugs smuggled in things such as tables, toys, furniture, holiday
candles, even tennis shoes.
"Their bottom line is to make money, and they are going to do whatever
they can to ensure that that happens," said Mike Unzueta, the special
agent in charge for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Diego.
"They've become very, very creative."
Drugs also are brought in underground through tunnels; some 100 have
been discovered since 1990 along the 1,950-mile U.S.-Mexico border. The
most sophisticated tunnels have lights, air systems and hydraulics.
While drugs flow north into the United States, weapons and cash flow
south into Mexico.
The smuggling organizations are well-established and sophisticated.
They have a recognized hierarchy and employ the latest technology, said
Rafael Reyes, chief of global enforcement operations for the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration.
Border agents have found radios, cells phones and global positioning
system tracking devices, leading officials to believe drug cartels
positioned on or close to the border are in constant contact with drug
runners.
"These guys are very ingenious," Reyes said. "They will exploit any
vulnerability that they can."
Reyes said that means factoring in the possibility a certain
percentage of drugs will be seized by federal agents: "They'll line up
10 loads, and if you pick off two or three, well, that's the cost of
doing business, 'I got seven across.' So it's that shotgun mentality."
The same thinking applies to drugs smuggled in the waters of the
eastern Pacific off the coasts of Central and South America.
U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Vincent DeLaurentis and his crew on the cutter
Hamilton came back from three months of searching for drugs inbound to
Mexico. They covered an area of ocean about the size of the
Southeastern United States. They captured six hard-to-detect boats that
travel at night and seized 30,000 pounds of pure cocaine.
DeLaurentis said drug traffickers have become much more aggressive in
their smuggling tactics. Among the new trends, he said, "They're using
vessels that are less and less detectable, whether it's these go-fast
boats that travel at night or the new self-propelled semi-submersible
vessels."
Known as SPSS, self-propelled semi-submersibles are something like
submarines, but they cannot fully submerge. Anywhere from several
inches to a couple of feet remain above the water line; they are
painted a blue or gray for camouflage, and they are flat on top with
valves and air holes.
They are difficult to detect and have become increasingly
sophisticated. Some can travel up to 5,000 miles and use fuel tanks for
ballast. They can carry some seven to 10 tons of drugs, and because of
their low profiles and low radar signatures, the vessels are popular,
DeLaurentis said.
The submersibles are built in the rebel-controlled jungles of Colombia,
and the U.S. Coast Guard said cartels pay for construction. The craft
rendezvous with fishing vessels or "go-fasts" -- boats that are
typically 40 feet long, go 40 knots and can carry several tons of
heroin or cocaine. The drugs then go to Mexico, where the cargo is
offloaded and transported across the border into the U.S.
"The fact they're developing semi-subs that can carry huge amounts of
drugs and running those vessels for thousands of miles tells me that
it's a very sophisticated operation," said Capt. Tom Farris, commander
of Coast Guard Sector San Diego.
The Coast Guard tries to engage and board these vessels before they get
to Mexico. But evidence of drug smuggling needed for prosecution is
hard to come by --- because traffickers on these crafts easily can
escape by opening a hatch, tossing out a life raft and then scuttling
the vessel to the bottom of the ocean along with its cargo.
A U.S. law signed in January makes it illegal to operate a stateless
SPSS and will allow the Coast Guard to arrest people it used to have to
release because drug evidence was on the bottom of the ocean.
Mexico produces three out of the four major abused drugs in the United
States -- marijuana, heroin and methamphetamines, according to the DEA.
Cocaine, however, comes from South America, but it and the other three
drugs are all shipped through Mexico into the United States.
"Mexico has become a vital hub," Reyes said.
According to the DEA, 90 percent of all cocaine destined for the U.S.
comes through the Mexican-Central American corridor, with 47 percent
not stopping in Central America but going to Mexico.
The primary transit routes from Mexico into the U.S. are: Tijuana to
San Diego, Sonora to Phoenix, Arizona; Chihuahua to El Paso, Texas; and
the states of Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas, which will cover the remaining
south of the border, to the Texas cities of Laredo and Brownsville.
"Those are the principal lucrative corridors," Reyes said. They are
"controlled by separate organizations because of the market they have
in the United States, and it is a profit-minded approach they take in
securing these corridors for themselves."
The San Ysidro port of entry is the busiest border crossing with Mexico
and the United States. More than 110,000 people pass through every day,
making it fertile ground for drug cartels looking for new ways to ship
drugs.
Port Director Oscar Preciado oversees the San Ysidro crossing. On any
given day, he said agents seize five to 10 loads -- about 50 to 500
pounds of marijuana, cocaine, heroin or methamphetamines. Recent
seizures include marijuana in tires and heroin in phony fuel tanks,
some with secret levers.
"They'll put it anywhere they can, and they're very creative in
creating their own compartments and concealing them," Preciado said.
With border security tighter than ever, Preciado said drug traffickers
are paying kids as young as 14 to smuggle dope -- mostly marijuana.
Drug traffickers who frequently bribe Mexican police are now trying to
bribe U.S. agents. While rare, officials said, it is serious.
"Corruption is one of our major concerns. We do everything we can to
stop corruption," Preciado said.
With billions of dollars at stake, cartels will try anything, officials
said. "If we can't catch the drugs, what we want to do is make them
spend more resources in order to get the drugs across the border," said
the Coast Guard's Farris.
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buddhabadger
Evil Overlord
Registered: 01/16/09
Posts: 491
Loc: The Forest
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Re: Drug smugglers becoming more creative, U.S. agents say [Re: veggie]
#10181223 - 04/16/09 09:59 PM (14 years, 10 months ago) |
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They're becoming more creative because you're forcing them to, you tards. That's the same reason they're growing pot in national parks: because you keep busting grow houses and greenhouses and so on.
Keep squeezing; the sand will come out one way or another.
-------------------- - I don't abuse drugs; in fact, I think I treat them quite nicely. -
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suburbanned
Stranger
Registered: 02/20/08
Posts: 2,810
Last seen: 13 years, 7 months
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Re: Drug smugglers becoming more creative, U.S. agents say [Re: buddhabadger]
#10181251 - 04/16/09 10:08 PM (14 years, 10 months ago) |
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how wonderful it would be for these bribes to start working on american agencies
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psilyguy
Registered: 12/03/08
Posts: 3,305
Last seen: 12 years, 2 months
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Re: Drug smugglers becoming more creative, U.S. agents say [Re: suburbanned]
#10181631 - 04/16/09 11:10 PM (14 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
suburbantoker said: how wonderful it would be for these bribes to start working on american agencies
that would be absolutely terrible, the situation would only get far worse that way because it would just make the more dangerous people more powerful. what needs to happen is flat out legalization to take away the power they already have.
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capt cap
art of revolution
Registered: 03/03/09
Posts: 370
Loc: VA
Last seen: 14 years, 5 months
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Re: Drug smugglers becoming more creative, U.S. agents say [Re: psilyguy]
#10181764 - 04/16/09 11:30 PM (14 years, 10 months ago) |
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im totally with buddhabadger.
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psilyguy
Registered: 12/03/08
Posts: 3,305
Last seen: 12 years, 2 months
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Re: Drug smugglers becoming more creative, U.S. agents say [Re: buddhabadger]
#10181829 - 04/16/09 11:41 PM (14 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
buddhabadger said: Keep squeezing; the sand will come out one way or another.
Open your hand and there will be no sand to squeeze.
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Ego Death
Justadropofwaterinanendlesssea
Registered: 04/27/03
Posts: 10,447
Loc: The War Machine
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Re: Drug smugglers becoming more creative, U.S. agents say [Re: psilyguy]
#10183153 - 04/17/09 06:53 AM (14 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
what we want to do is make them spend more resources trying to get the drugs across
What a dummy
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AnonymousRabbit
Comrade
Registered: 01/10/08
Posts: 8,993
Last seen: 1 year, 6 months
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Edited by AnonymousRabbit (05/19/22 12:28 AM)
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oh_you_know
lsd <3
Registered: 02/08/09
Posts: 2,282
Loc: Oh, USA
Last seen: 11 years, 13 days
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Re: Drug smugglers becoming more creative, U.S. agents say [Re: AnonymousRabbit]
#10186115 - 04/17/09 05:27 PM (14 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
supernovasky said: I want you guys to think about antibiotics and evolution of germs, because what is happening right now is very similar. One of the rules of evolution is that if you can kill a species that is going against what you desire, you better kill ALL of them... because if you can't kill all of them and some survive, they will eventually evolve an immunity. These guys, cartels and drug runners, are evolving complexity and are going to be harder and harder to take down.
smartest thing ive read in a long time
-------------------- My Journal
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AnonymousRabbit
Comrade
Registered: 01/10/08
Posts: 8,993
Last seen: 1 year, 6 months
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-------------------- .
Edited by AnonymousRabbit (05/19/22 12:28 AM)
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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist
Registered: 03/10/07
Posts: 48,355
Last seen: 12 hours, 50 minutes
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Re: Drug smugglers becoming more creative, U.S. agents say [Re: AnonymousRabbit]
#10187646 - 04/17/09 11:08 PM (14 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
I want you guys to think about antibiotics and evolution of germs, because what is happening right now is very similar. One of the rules of evolution is that if you can kill a species that is going against what you desire, you better kill ALL of them... because if you can't kill all of them and some survive, they will eventually evolve an immunity. These guys, cartels and drug runners, are evolving complexity and are going to be harder and harder to take down.
Yea it won't be long before the drug runners are putting drugs in magnet boxes on the bottom of innocent vehicles. They will then follow the vehicle in (w/ gps attached to a cell phone), and remove it later on when they stop.
Also people could put the magnet boxes under their own car for plausible deniability, I doubt a jury would convict someone for having one under their car if there was no other evidence that they were a drug runner.
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spud303
Pizza Punk.
Registered: 10/24/04
Posts: 124
Loc: 303
Last seen: 13 years, 1 month
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Re: Drug smugglers becoming more creative, U.S. agents say [Re: Alan Rockefeller]
#10187823 - 04/18/09 12:01 AM (14 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
Alan Rockefeller said:
Also people could put the magnet boxes under their own car for plausible deniability, I doubt a jury would convict someone for having one under their car if there was no other evidence that they were a drug runner.
I think you should rethink that. There are plenty of people who get busted running or otherwise distributing drugs with no priors and the jury is more than happy to convict.
-------------------- this is my signature.
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DepthToTheCore
JeeBuzz
Registered: 05/05/04
Posts: 3,649
Loc: Australia brah
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Re: Drug smugglers becoming more creative, U.S. agents say [Re: spud303]
#10188076 - 04/18/09 02:10 AM (14 years, 10 months ago) |
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The point i think Alan is making is that these people with the "magnets" attached to their cars could plead ignorance, stating that they were completely unaware of the device attached to their car, even if they placed it their themselves.
May not hold up in court at all, but it could provide some immunity if one could prove they had no knowledge of it.
-------------------- "Those who dance are considered insane by those who cannot hear the music." - George Carlin
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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist
Registered: 03/10/07
Posts: 48,355
Last seen: 12 hours, 50 minutes
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Re: Drug smugglers becoming more creative, U.S. agents say [Re: spud303]
#10188152 - 04/18/09 03:03 AM (14 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
I think you should rethink that. There are plenty of people who get busted running or otherwise distributing drugs with no priors and the jury is more than happy to convict.
If someone sticks a box full of drugs under your car, I don't think a jury would consider you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Remember that the controlled substance act requires that you knowingly possess the substance as an element of the offense. If you have drugs and you don't know you have them because someone stuck them there, you are not guilty.
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Lorek
Meaner than a Junkyard Spore
Registered: 05/26/08
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Re: Drug smugglers becoming more creative, U.S. agents say [Re: Alan Rockefeller]
#10188580 - 04/18/09 08:10 AM (14 years, 10 months ago) |
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-------------------- I sent the club a wire stating, PLEASE ACCEPT MY RESIGNATION. I DON'T WANT TO BELONG TO ANY CLUB THAT WILL ACCEPT ME AS A MEMBER. Groucho Marx
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iamconfused
Happily insane since '06
Registered: 03/14/06
Posts: 589
Last seen: 9 years, 8 months
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Re: Drug smugglers becoming more creative, U.S. agents say [Re: Lorek]
#10190191 - 04/18/09 01:47 PM (14 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
Drug smugglers becoming more creative, U.S. agents say
Tell me about it. Every time I smuggle some weed home and smoke it I make all kinds of creative shit.
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