[indistinct voice through radio]
[Narrator] All travelers are subject to ID checks
when entering the United States.
What's going on today, guys? What brought y'all to Mexico?
...allowing customs and border protection officers
to quickly determine if any are wanted criminals.
[officer speaking]
-U.S. citizen, sir? -Yes, sir.
Look at the camera here, take a step back.
-Miss, how old is your son? -Six -- uh, fifteen.
Fifteen, OK, right there.
Stand right there for me, please.
At the Progreso Bridge,
a woman returning from Mexico has been flagged in the system.
[Escalon] We just escorted a female subject
from the vehicle secondaries.
She might have an active warrant.
I believe that they went out there shopping and dental,
and now they're heading back home.
[ominous tones playing]
[detainee speaking]
The subject is being non-cooperative.
She's very amped up, and she's giving us
a hard time.
[loud banging]
[Escalon sighs]
Here we go.
[detainee speaking]
There's no point in calling right now
if you have no idea where you're going.
[detainee speaking]
[banging continues]
To confirm her identity and verify the warrant,
officer Escalon needs to take the woman's fingerprints.
[Escalon speaking]
Ma'am, I'mma take your fingerprints, just relax.
-You been in trouble before? -[detainee speaking]
-What about it? -[detainee speaking]
[Escalon] Just bear with us, ma'am.
We're just trying to get this process going.
[detainee speaking]
[Escalon] Have a seat.
[detainee speaking]
Ma'am, just have a seat and sit down.
-Stay there. -[detainee speaking]
[Escalon] Don't ever get up without being told to.
[detainee speaking]
[theme music playing]
[officer speaking over radio]
[officer 1] We found something.
-[officer 2] Mike, Mike. -[Mike over radio] Go ahead.
[officer 2] It's positive.
[driver] Are we gonna be put in jail?
[officer 3] We have to do what we have to do.
-[digital beeping] -[mysterious music playing]
-[helicopter buzzing] -[indistinct radio chatter]
Eagle Pass Port of Entry is one of the busiest
border crossings in North America.
An estimated 6.5 million pedestrians and vehicles
pass through each year.
[officer] Y'all bringin' anything back from Mexico?
[driver speaking]
-[officer] There you go. -[driver speaking]
[officer] Have a nice day.
Drug cartels are known to conceal narcotics
within ordinary looking vehicles,
creating hidden compartments to avoid detection
by CBP officers.
Big vehicles such as SUVs or pickup trucks
have larger wheels and tires, so the cartels, if you get two
or three vehicles of the same make and model,
do the same compartment and start to try
and smuggle narcotics into the country.
So once we pop one, we start looking
at the same year range and make and models.
This afternoon,
a driver of an SUV, who claims to be
visiting the U.S. for three days,
has raised suspicions.
She was just tryna distract me so I wouldn't
ask her any questions.
[woman speaking in spanish]
She had no luggage.
She had high heels, a water jug, and trash.
With all the red flags that she has,
I'm gonna send her for a Z-Portal inspection.
While the woman is detained,
her vehicle is sent for an X-ray.
Anomalies on the right rear quarter panel
and the left rear quarter panel.
Sometimes it could be water bottles,
sometimes it could be just trash that they have.
[Estrada] All right, let's take a look.
With suspicious shapes appearing on the image,
officers carry out a physical inspection.
[Estrada] So he said that the anomalies
were possibly on the left and on the right quarter panel,
so we're going to check, real quick.
I mean, we see that there's missing bolts,
as you can see right there.
There it is. We got bundles.
Let me take a look over here, real quick, too.
There it is, we got more.
-[indistinct chatter] -[Estrada] Yeah, let's go.
Having found what looks like drugs,
officers move the car to a secure area
to continue the search.
[speaking in spanish]
[officer] There's more over here, though.
...seven, eight, nine, ten.
How many you got there?
One, two, three, four, five.
So, so far, we have a total of 15 packages.
My guess, we're probably gonna find more.
[intriguing music playing]
[chatter over radio]
In Progreso...
Ma'am, have a seat and sit down.
-Stay there. -[detainee speaking]
[Escalon] Don't ever get up without being told to.
A 21 year old U.S. citizen returning home
has been flagged for an outstanding
arrest warrant.
[Escalon] The subject is being non-cooperative.
She's very amped up and she's giving us a hard time.
After attempting to make a break for it,
officers have put the woman back in the cells.
[loud banging]
OK
OK, perfect.
With her fingerprints matching the arrest warrant,
Officer Escalon receives information
from the Houston Sheriff's Office
that she's wanted on multiple counts
for possession of drugs.
It seems like they are willing to extradite.
We're gonna try process this as quick as we can
and turn it over to the state and local.
This is not her first time.
She stated before that she had an extensive rap sheet,
so she knows the ropes here.
[banging continues]
Back in the cell,
the woman shows no sign of calming down...
[banging]
-[Escalon] Yes, ma'am. -[detainee speaking]
Uh, not at the moment.
...and will only be permitted a phone call once she has been
transferred to local police.
We're gonna get a call once you --
[detainee speaking]
Can I get a call?
Yes, ma'am, once you get transported to the agency
that they're gonna pick you up, then you'll receive your car. -[detainee speaking]
-Yes, ma'am. -[detainee speaking]
So what?
[detainee speaking]
Yeah, well, I just explained to you.
They gonna come pick you up, so once they get here,
I'll notify you, and then I'll take you -- -[detainee speaking]
[Escalon] Yes, ma'am.
-All right -- -[detainee speaking]
I don't know, ma'am, just bear with us.
We're trying to process as soon as we can.
-[detainee speaking] -No.
-[banging] -[detainee speaking]
No, you cannot get a phone call.
-[detainee speaking] -All right.
-Well, just chill out. -[detainee speaking]
Ma'am, you're just gonna make it hard on yourself,
all right? -[detainee speaking]
OK, why would you hope so?
[detainee speaking]
I know, but you -- we're not the one that put you
in this position. -[detainee speaking]
No, ma'am, it's not -- it doesn't work that way.
[detainee speaking]
-OK. -[detainee speaking]
You can bang all you want, but nobody's
gonna get you a call, ma'am. -[detainee speaking]
Local police arrived to take the woman to county jail,
where she'll be held until extradited,
350 miles to Houston.
If later found guilty of the drug offenses,
that she could face up to 10 years in jail.
[suspenseful music playing]
[chatter over radio]
At Eagle Pass International Bridge...
[officer] ...seven, eight, nine, ten.
[Estrada] There's more over here.
...officers have discovered what appears to be
a large stash of narcotics hidden in a vehicle
entering the United States.
One, two, three, four, five.
So far, we have a total of 15 packages.
My guess, we're probably gonna find more.
[Estrada speaking]
Officer Estrada suspects there's even more drugs
concealed inside the spare wheel.
About to check the spare tire right there
it's definitely a red flag,
just because of the fact that it's not the same tread.
It looks like it's a different type of tire.
[officers speaking]
[Estrada speaking]
Officers must find a way of getting into the tire.
If there are drugs inside and a packet is broken,
as well as damaging evidence,
it could risk harming the officers.
[Estrada] I think this is, um, this is coke, yeah.
[officer] It's coke.
[officer] Ready?
It's a boy.
[officers laugh]
As of right now, six more, but there is still
a lot more in here.
I need shower when I get home.
[Estrada] There's a lot more, bro.
They're all stuck. They're, like, all stuck.
Officer Barrera takes over...
[Barrera] They're slippery.
[Estrada] Yeah, they're super slippery.
[Barrera exclaims]
That's it, bro.
...and removes the final package.
17 in the tire, which seems to be, like, mixed drugs,
'cause they feel different.
So the ones over here feel like some sort of crystal meth,
and these look like cocaine.
Officers aren't convinced they've found
everything, though,
and bring in a K-9.
The dog alerts to the floor of the trunk...
[officer] Good boy!
[officer speaking]
...where more packages are discovered.
[Barrera] That's a good load, yeah. Good job.
So in the next compartment they just found
another 22 more packages.
Along with the 32 already found,
today's seizure totals 54 bundles of narcotics.
[Estrada] Oh... this is heavy.
-[Barrera] Let's go that way. -[officers chatter indistinctly]
[♪♪]
[chatter over radio]
Anything you're bringing back with you,
other than your personal belongings?
-[man speaking] -All right, boss, take care.
With an estimated 393 million privately-owned firearms,
the United States has the highest rate
of gun ownership in the world.
But without special permission, transporting firearms
across a federal border is strictly forbidden
and can result in criminal charges.
-Any alcohol, tobacco, firearms in the vehicle? -[man speaking]
You guys are all set, you have a good day.
[chatter over radio]
At the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel,
Officer Watson is working with an American
delivery driver who was refused entry into Canada
after a rifle was found in his van.
This individual was sent back.
He was trying to go to Canada, and I believe he's trying
to make a delivery, but they refused his entry
'cause he has a makeshift firearm in the back.
[♪♪]
Ah, look, there it is, too.
See, there's no source of ammunition.
I don't know if there's gonna be any documentation for that.
There's no serial numbers.
This one's gonna be a little interesting.
[somber music playing]
What are you doing?
The man, who says the van is also his home,
claims that taking the gun to Canada was an accident.
I had forgotten about half of the stuff I got in there,
so that's why I still have it today.
I thought it was gone.
yeah, I mean, you can't take firearms to Canada, boss.
I know! I didn't know I have it.
-I didn't know. -[Watson] I know.
While the delivery driver waits for the inspection
to be completed, Officer Watson attempts
to identify the unusual firearm.
[Watson] After making sure the weapon was already safe and clear,
we were able to handle it. It's definitely home-modified.
Maybe not homemade, but this was an actual
functioning firearm that he looks like
he modified himself with
para cord and, uh...
some
piece of rubber.
Although the weapon appears makeshift,
since it's still technically a working firearm,
the man has committed an offense by transporting it
through a federal border.
Once he gets outside, ask him a little more about the weapon,
because there's
there's noth -- I mean, there's no way to truly identify it,
this is gonna be an interesting thing.
[chatter over radio]
-I think this is --
-This is coke, yeah. -[officer] It's coke.
In Eagle Pass...
[officer]
...CBP officers have seized 54 packages
of suspected narcotics stashed inside an SUV.
With the drugs hidden across multiple parts of the vehicle,
officers believe there could still be more...
[officer speaking]
...and want reassurance that nothing has been missed.
Uh, there's no more anomalies.
54 packages is a lot of drugs for one vehicle.
The x-ray confirms that the car's been completely
stripped of all remaining contraband,
and officers can begin processing the load.
-OK. So we're still gonna measure everything out,
weigh everything out.
They suspect that the three types of packages contain
three different types of drugs.
They use a laser detection device
to accurately identify each type,
starting with the rectangular bricks.
[officer]
Next, they test a rounder package wrapped in black tape.
2.6 million Americans ages 12 and up
report using methamphetamines
every year, and it accounts for the majority of deaths
caused by narcotic overdoses.
Finally, officer Barrera tests the cylindrical package
wrapped with yellow tape.
A sticky black consistency is a sign that the third drug
could be heroin.
If the test pouch turns green, it's a positive match.
Black tar is an unrefined, impure form of heroin.
Teaming with dangerous chemicals,
it's even more deadly to users.
The haul has an estimated street value of $1.7 million.
It's a huge win for Officer Barrera and his team.
One, two, three.
While the officers have something to celebrate,
the party is over for the driver of the vehicle.
She is handed over to Homeland Security Investigations,
who will take over the case.
If found guilty of trafficking such a large quantity
of narcotics, she could face up to life in prison.
[♪♪]
On the northern bank of the Rio Grande
sits the U.S. City of Brownsville.
Across the river in Mexico is Matamoros,
a stronghold for organized crime, where Mexican cartels
use fleets of vehicles to carry out cross-border smuggling.
When someone's lying to you, you can kind of tell.
And when they're telling you the truth,
it just kind of flows out. It's natural.
Four?
OK, and why so much detergent?
But for the most part, you hear the same thing
over and over again.
Going shopping, bringing back minuscule items.
But how they say it, that's what's real.
And that's what you're looking for, that's the pattern
you try to pick up on.
-Traveling by yourself, sir? -[driver speaking]
The vehicle, is it registered under your name?
-Anybody else? -[driver speaking]
Tonight, at the Brownsville Gateway Bridge,
a woman has been selected for a random inspection.
[♪♪]
Officers quickly find items that arouse suspicion.
Cartels reuse license plates across different vehicles
to confuse detection systems and disrupt CBP operations.
Concerned this woman could be involved
in some kind of smuggling,
officers need to investigate more.
[officer] You're good.
Large amounts of cash can be linked to criminal activity,
but the woman says she only has $250.
Hidden in the woman's back pocket
is a stack of $100 bills.
Any currency over $10,000 must be declared.
If she's carrying more, she could face federal prosecution.
[♪♪]
At the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel...
Ah, look, there it is, too.
...Officers are investigating an unusual firearm
found in the back of a van.
This one's gonna be a little interesting.
OK.
The driver has a delivery to make across the border
in Canada, but his homemade rifle
caught him in the crosshairs of CBP.
Why were you trying to go to Canada today?
I have -- this needs to be delivered
to the Chrysler -- Windsor Place.
OK, all right, do you have any paperwork at all for that fire?
-No, sir. -I'd say no.
I'd say it's self modified, self made?
Somebody tried to shoot my dad with it, and he grabbed it
and jerked it away from him, and then he broke it.
So I kind of made it so I could shoot it from like that
with a pistol, and I used to shoot hogs with it.
Where's home for -- or where was home for you?
Uh, like Kountze, Texas, but I sold my house in Kountze.
I put a daughter through college,
through law school.
So, when I sold the house, and moved out to my mom
and dad's farm out in Spurger, Texas.
OK, how long have you been on the road?
-Probably about six months. -OK.
My mom died last year, and I -- I just --
I really didn't have nothing left.
[Watson] Well, I'm sorry for your loss, boss.
I'm sorry to hear 'bout your mom.
That was about the last thing I took.
I was bringing them around with me.
I thought it was gone.
Fortunately for this driver, the officer is satisfied
it was an honest mistake.
[Watson] All right, boss.
Well, I'm gonna put that back in the van.
We'll get you on your way, OK?
[man] Thank you. God bless you.
Thank you. All right.
But the gun will need to be disposed of before he tries
to cross the border again.
So I put it on the side.
That way, when he gets to wherever he's going
here in Michigan, that he can drop it off at or
properly dispose of.
You know, a couple of our police stations
will take it from him and dispose of it.
Everybody's got stories, so thankfully, in this case,
it's just a guy tryna make a living.
Has a unusual story for a firearm that he's got
with him, but other than that, everything is good to go.
All right, sir, you're good to grab your dog
and get in the van, OK? -[man] Thank you.
Years ago, I used to have, like, 10 or 12 guns,
but, you know, I used to hunt deer and hunt game
and everything, and when my daughter got in college,
I had to sell everything.
And, uh, that was the last one I had.
I hadn't even fired it, like, in 10 years.
I don't want it. But I'm not -- I'll make sure.
I may just take it to the police department and give it to 'em
'cause I don't want anybody to get a hold of it and be able
to do anything with it.
The man has been spared a penalty
and is sent on his way.
[officers over radio]
Back in Brownsville...
a woman is being questioned after a search found
multiple license plates in her vehicle
and a large sum of money in her possession.
Failure to declare cash over $10,000 is a federal crime
which can result in a fine or prosecution.
[officer] OK.
The woman is taken inside to determine why she has
so much cash and why she concealed it.
She amended her declaration at the last second.
It's a red flag when they don't declare it on primary,
and then they do declare it on secondary.
We get that a lot.
We get people who come across, say, "How much money
are you bringing over?"
Uh, I don't know, but I'm pretty sure I know
exactly what I have on my person.
You know, with a couple questions in an interview,
we could get to the bottom of things.
Officers suspect the woman could be working for a cartel,
driving vehicles with false license plates
to be used in smuggling activities.
Since any currency over $10,000 must be declared,
the cash is counted.
The undeclared money is below the $10,000 limit.
Well we'll take care of some stuff real quick
and then [indistinct], OK?
Despite officers' suspicions, there's no hard evidence
that the woman is doing anything illegal.
She'll be released,
but not before the license plates are seized.
She's gonna keep all her money,
um, minus the license plates,
um, but she'll be on her way.
If the woman crosses in the future,
she will need to be more careful
about what she is taking with her.
She's a regular, and, yeah, we see her often.
[♪♪]
In the United States, the average American will spend
over $85,000 on medication in a lifetime.
But lower prices in Mexico fuel a black market,
with people illegally smuggling cheap medicine
back into the U.S.
This afternoon in Progreso, a man has been detained
after Officer Trevino found suspicious packages
in the trunk of his car.
He was very nervous.
And I could tell, like, he wasn't giving me
a lot of eye contact.
And I asked him what he was bringing back.
And he said, "Oh, just cookies and chips and treats
for my family members over here in the U.S."
And I was, "Oh, OK."
So I opened the trunk. It was like this.
So, when I grabbed one,
they felt different.
Usually, with the crackers, you could feel whenever
you push it, you could break the cracker and not this.
This is very hard.
You could tell the packages were altered
'cause they were ripped.
When we opened them, this is what we got.
Medication.
This one too. Pills, Xanax, Acxion.
pretty much everything. They're full to the rim.
All the pills are controlled substances
in the United States.
A lot of times, what they do this is because family members
don't have jobs in the U.S., and they rely on selling
medication in flea markets, on Marketplace, on Facebook,
just to make, you know, extra money, which is illegal.
So right now, we took him inside.
He's being fingerprinted, and they're gonna see
if they're gonna prosecute him.
Smuggling more than 50 pills of a controlled substance
can carry a penalty of up to five years in prison.
The man's fingerprints are taken to see
if he has a criminal history.
[officer speaking in Spanish]
He has a clean record, but reveals something shocking
about his profession.
[detainee and officer speaking in Spanish]
The subject stated that he is a general doctor in Mexico.
I can only assume as that he is selling this medication
to people over here in the United States.
[woman]...haven't left America.
This quantity of prescription medications could be worth
thousands of dollars on the black market in the U.S.
If the man is selling them, he faces losing
his medical license, as well as jail time.
[truck honking loudly]
The Ambassador Bridge is North America's
busiest commercial artery, facilitating 25% of all
U.S. - Canada trade.
-Hi, how are you? -[driver speaking]
-How many? -[driver speaking]
-Two? Any weapons or firearms? -[man speaking]
-Have a good evening, OK? -[driver speaking]
Take care, bye.
It's also a popular crossing for artists and musical acts.
Super diverse, all different walks of life coming
across the bridge every day.
It definitely helps to know the surrounding area
because if somebody tells you they're going to a concert
that's not here, and they say it's here,
obviously they're lying about something,
so it kind of heightens our awareness and what to look for.
This afternoon, a touring band attempting to get across
into Canada has been sent back to CBP officers in Detroit.
We are DeathbyRomy. I'm DeathbyRomy's manager.
We got turned around in Canada because we didn't have a stamp
in our carnet for all of our audio equipment.
A permit known as a carnet allows expensive equipment
to enter a country for a limited time
without paying import duty.
With errors in the band's paperwork,
officers must further investigate.
Anytime somebody's returning back from Canada,
we do our routine inspection here.
So we're gonna go through the van here,
go through the trailer that they're pulling.
The band's performance is scheduled to start
in just a few hours.
But for now, they're going nowhere.
We don't wanna get stopped.
and for them to have to cancel the show.
That's the worst case scenario.
The clock is ticking, but Officer Low must check
that the band has accounted for every piece of equipment
on their carnet.
So it's an inventory of what they've taken out
of the country and bringing back into the country.
Oh, it's like they're not bringing something in,
like skipping out on paying taxes or duty on.
It's like an expensive guitar, so it's just them showing that,
"Hey, I bought this here in the states, I didn't buy this
in another country, and I'm bringing it back."
While officer Low continues to inspect the contents
of the tour bus,
officers inside assist with the band's paperwork.
[officer] So when you go to Canada,
tell them that you have a carnet.
And just make sure they take it.
Oh, they refused you guys? Because if you turn the carnet
in and you're missing any of the blocks in it,
they can actually fine you.
for not exporting or importing properly. -[manager] Oh, got it.
And the fines can be pretty hefty from what we hear. -[manager] OK.
So it's actually to your benefit
that they refused you.
[manager] OK, well, that was a good thing.
[officer] Yeah. What do you do in the band?
-I'm the manager. -[officer] Oh, are you?
[laughing]
[officer] That's why they left you with the paperwork.
Yeah, exactly. I do all the admin stuff.
And you guys are going to Toronto for your show?
-[manager speaking] -What kind of music is it?
It's like alternative pop.
Where do you play, like a bar? Or --
[manager speaking]
Oh, I think I've heard of that.
-Is that pretty big? -[manager speaking]
Wow.
With the inspection of the van complete,
the necessary amendments are made to the carnet.
Good luck at your show.
-Thank you so much. -Yeah.
Hope you play some big hits.
Thank you.
-Thank you. -[officer] Group out.
They were great. They were super friendly.
It was pretty easy.
Just had to wait around for a while, but it was good.
With the help of the CBP team, the show will go on,
and the band can continue their journey to Toronto
for tonight's gig.
So once they're done with their show,
they gotta go back through the process again,
and we're gonna see 'em again tomorrow.
[suspenseful music playing]
In Progreso...
[Trevino] So I opened the -- the trunk.
This is what we got. Pills, Xanax, Acxion.
Pretty much everything. They're full to the rim.
A doctor from Mexico has been caught attempting to smuggle
large quantities of controlled medication into the U.S.
It's easy for somebody to just try to get a hold of a doctor
from Mexico and then just get prescribed something,
and then he brings them over.
We're gonna have to count the pills that we have.
All the medication must be identified and counted.
The more there are, the stiffer the penalty.
Right now, we're dealing with Acxion.
These ones are used mainly for diet and energy,
but they do have a controlled substance.
Officer Robles has also identified tramadol,
Xanax, and a surprising fourth drug, misoprostol.
The other medication that is used for abortion,
that's a new one.
We really haven't seen that as much.
It's usually used or prescribed for ulcers.
However, if any pregnant female uses it,
it can cause abortion of the fetus.
Following the end of the constitutional right
to abortion in 2022,
misoprostol has been increasingly smuggled
from Mexico into the United States
to enable self-managed abortions.
The Xanax is gonna be 322.06 grams.
Acxion is gonna be 60.1 grams.
Tramadol is gonna be 584.78.
And the misoprostol, 83.79 grams.
This kind of quantity of controlled medications
can only mean one thing,
that the man is a dealer.
This is an excessive amount, which we can assume
this person's trying to smuggling to sell it
in the black market in the United States.
The profit will probably be very large because
one pill of Xanax can be sold for $5, $10.
And I believe we seized, I wanna say, over 3,000 pills,
so that could be a large profit for the smuggler.
The street value for the Xanax and tramadol alone
is in excess of $53,000.
But this man isn't going to get his payday.
Local law enforcement arrives to take the doctor into custody.
[officer speaking]
-[officer] Yes. -[Robles] Yes.
[officer speaking]
[Robles] Yeah.
450 pills.
-[officer speaking] -[Robles] Mm-mm.
No, we don't see them.
They are gonna take the subject and present
all the evidence, and the judge will decide
what the consequence will be for him.
The doctor is escorted from the cells to be handed
over to the state troopers.
They're gonna do state prosecution for smuggling
this medication into the United States,
which is a felony.
And also because he is a Mexican resident with a visa,
he will be losing his visa today.
[doctor speaking]
[state trooper speaking]
[detainee] OK.
[detainee speaking]
[translator speaking]
With the doctor on his way to county jail,
it's been a successful seizure for Officer Robles
and the Progreso CBP team.
[♪♪]