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Show The Salt Lake Tribune NATION/WORLD Sunday, January 24, 1999 rug Smugglers, Cops Match Wits Waron Drugs The cat-and-mouse gameontheinterstate On the Interstates Patrolling the interstate window of his Indiana State Po- lice cruiser,the trooper squints at the traffic roaring eastbound on “Every 100 pounds ofpot I catch is another 100 pounds that won't wind up in some high school somewhere, And I know how to find the dope.” Interstate 70 througha lightrain. Oh yeah, hesays. It’s out there. Indianais carved by Interstates 65, 70 and 80, varningit the title “Crossroads of America.” While it’s a charming label if you are touring the Midwest, it’s a harsh } Eisenhower sioned broad “ribbons across the land,” allowing for faster travel and military deployment. Today, Wildauer and cops like him all over the country see the interstates as 24-hour pipelines that supplyillegal drugs to rural high schoolsandbig-city streets. State troopers and southwest border agents assigned to stop the flow coordinate their efforts through Operation Pipeline, a federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) program ac- tivein every state. Its hub is the El Paso Intelli- gence Center (PIC), a one-story brick building on the north endof Biggs ArmyAirfield in El Paso, Texas, where morethan 250 state and federal law-enforcementoffi- cials track smugglers, sean crimi- nal databases to link cases and provide 24-hour intelligence to officers in the field ‘Those officers are equipped with fiberscopes that to peer into gas tanks, ters that show when stuffedina door or tire, allow them density mesomething’s giant bor- der X-rays that can seeinto traetor trailers. Sometimes, authorities even load busted drug couriers and their vehicles onto military cargo jets andfly thei totheir delivery points so authorities can make drug deliveries and arrest those onthe receiving end. Since 1990, authorities have pulled more than 1.5 million pounds of marijuana and more than 207,000 pounds of cocaine off U.S. highways andinterstates, according to the DEA, That includes more {han 170,000 pounds of marijuana and more than 19,000 pounds of cocaine in the first eight months of 1998. Sull, state and federal officials estimate, nine out of 10 drug shipments on the interstate highways get through The only way to dry them up, Wildauer says, would’ beto stop and search every car Traffic Stops Changed: In the early 1980s, state troopers in New Mexico and New Jersey no- ticed a trend. More routinetraffic stops along interstates were turning into sizable drug busts. The two states independently set up highway interdiction programs and before long saw a jumpin drug seizure They began and speech line ‘The program trains officers on traffic details to look for things that don't make sense Do the lug nuts look shiny? Maybe they ve been removedrecently to stash drugs in thetires. See any shiny screw heads that should be painted over? Any out of-place weld marks? Those could also point to hidingplaces. Nearly 50 courses were taught last year, training about 4,000 of- ficers across the country as tanks Detecting the drugs D Drug -snitfing dogs > Fiberscopes that peerinto gas tanks the stereotype of drug runners. “Hauling dope, it has no race, it has no religion,” Wildauersays. The illegal drug business pays its drivers so well, authorities say, P Density meters that show when something is stuffedin a doorortire > Giant bordertractortrailer X-rays Life veins of anillegal drug trade Profile of a drug runner A lookat the most commondrug smuggling routes: that most will go to jail rather i than inform on higher-ups. The going rate for transporting marijuana is around $100 per pound, Drugdealers seekout people whodonotfit the common“drug dealer’ stereotype. A drug runner can ' be anyonefrom your grandmother to a young Marine. ' from a couple pounds to several hundred. > Becausethepayis s0 good, college studentsand elderly People living on fixed incomesare often luradinto the serviceof drug dealers, Drugsareoften stashed in hidden compartments of cars or D Drug runners rarely use drugs themselves. Dealers do with loads ranging anywhere trucks, but authorities have seen not wantto entrust their valuable shioments to a drug user. cocaine molded into pottery or even heated to a liquid state and soaked into bulk packages of clothing. When authorities figure out where drugs are being hidden, concealment methods change, creating a daily cat-and-mouse game on interstates and along the Mexican border. P Increasingly, drug runners drive rental cars. T! it harderto trace a shipment back to the drug « the car yets busted. knows the multibillion dollar drug business is beating him and everyone else along the 2,000- mile bordersenseless. This doesn't make Ordonez D> Whena truck driveris being usedto run drugs, ty 1 does not know aboutit. The drugs are sometime hipped in cargo headedfor a seemingly legitimate b whichis actually a front for a drug operat (Airport) 3 KEY Telitale Signs: Noel Ordonez, a U.S. Customs inspector with glaring eyes and a sixth sense that goes off when something's not right, has worked three ports of entry along the Mexican border, questioning thousands of drivers crossing each year. He loves outsmarting drug couriers, but he * City (Drug trade hub) & Active port of entry (Manjuana) Interstate pipeline Active port of entry (Cocaine) Counting the cost A lookat the national totals of highway seizures and combinedstreet value of major drugs: $0:000 bs = —“eoeaing 2501bs =m 200 ae 200,000 f \ eae 150] 150,000 SO ey a er 100,000 —/[Marijuana 20,000— aoe $= re 50,000 —< 90 «494 ~«(98 99 oF 0 9 300,000Ibs 250,000 20 00 ibs. Ibs. ———— Fi + 50,000 ——— oF Methamphetamine ———— $70 milion 2,500 Ibs A _$70mion 2,000}+-———}\60|-_ Street value 1,500 /} ———} 50 1,000 40 7 — ‘3 500 K— 09 848 2QLe 90 34 Source: El Paso Intelligence Center, U.S. CustomsService A i + t t > , i +t + ‘ + ¢+ - t t od Vig3 want to give up. “Every 100 pounds of pot I catch is another 100 pounds that won't windupin somehighschool a parking area. A drug-sniffing dog circles the vehicle, stops mid- somewhere,” he says as another way down the driver's side and barks. “And I know how to find the dope.” Ordonezlooks for drivers who Inspectors rip out the van’s inside panels, exposing 20 bricks of marijuana — about 140 pounds worth nearly $500,000 on the big truck pulls up to his booth won't make eye contact, the ones tapping the steering wheel ner- vously. He questionsdrivers if he sees a key chain withonly onekey onit. Why no house key? Heis familiar with their vehicles. Along with cars, about 1,000 commercial trucks pass through El Paso's Ysleta Port of Entry each day. More and more, drug dealers are using big trucks to conceal their goods. When Ordonez is suspicious of a truck, he sendsit to the docks be unloaded and searched. trucks are driven through a massive X-ray that scans thetractor andtrailer. On average, about 100 trucks a day will be scrutinized; therest pass through unsearched, At the Paso del Norte Port of Entry, which links downtown El Paso with the bustling Mexican city of Juarez, 10 lanes of automo: stretch in lines several jong. ployees of the drug smug. watch, noticing which in spectors are being the most thor- ough. The men usecell phones to tell couriers whichlanesto avoid. A banged-up GMC vanwith tan ener, EPIC and asks for a check on the false walls Inside tires Officer canfind the secret hiding piaces using ton Suspicious, car and its occupants 4 " Hiddenwithin cargo Spaces behind —_ nications networksthattell couri- and burgundystripes pulls up toa customs booth. The driver ner: the officer calls \ Drug smuggling: where anything is possible If you canimagineit, drug smugglersare doingit. A look at Inside spaces betweenbodypanels ers which roadspolice are patrolling most. They use drivers, such was weaving. The two peoplein it act nervous and give conflicting stories. One says they are coming from Dallas, the other says Hous ofair freshener some commonways drugs are smuggled: clock. The center receives about But the heart of the program is officer pulls a car over becauseit driver and passenger. After getting information, officer’ can authorize a drug ® Heavy scent maicnrondinich ie) drug business — worth $52billion the daily intelligence supplied to the field by EPIC. This recent case from Oklahoma typifies how it works: An Oklahoma Highway Patrol forinformation about car, P Newspapers do not 30,000 calls per year. Despite Operation Pipeline, the as senior citizens, who don’tfit conflicting stories. Intelligence Center (EPIC), search. redo, Texas, about eight hours earlier. A drug-sniffing dog is a year in the U.S. according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy — remainsone step ahead. Drugorganizations run commu- questions each, looking for @ officer can call El Paso Screws in the eye in to the center. The EPIC search finds that the vehicle crossed the border at La- suspicious of those who seemunsharing informa- tion with other states on howto turn moving violations into major drugarrests. In 1984, this cooperation grew into Operation Pipe- separates them and stopped much > Luggage does not match length oftrip D> Panels tampered with or recently removed D> Inability to look officer EPIC hasaccessto databases on the vehicle,officer quickly person hasnot fortraveling Calls like this pour into the center’s main operations room, keeping the phonesringing around the D. P Uncertainty about drug cases from the FBI, DEA and U.S. Customs. It also keeps track of all highwaystops called it morethanonepersonin wrappersthat indicate } Nervous movements named Dwight looksfor: } Fast food bags and > Unfamiliarity with vehicle called in and directs officers to the trunk. A search reveals 20 kilos of cocaine. first thought up theidea of an in- to a broken tail light. © During questioning, officer destination and reason reality if youretrying to stop drug traffic. In 1919, when a young soldier terstate highway system, he envi- @ Atterpulling vehicle over, officerstarts questioning, listening for anything suspicious: Noel Ordonez U.S. Customs inspector eS It could be stashed in duffel bags in the back of that rented Lexus. Or maybe tucked inside the side panels of that minivan. It could betaped inside the tires of a newcar on that carcarrier or hidden in a washing machine in that moving van. Q oltlicer looksfor even the most minor moving violation, from a coupleof miles overthe speedlimit CRESTS tte out the Timefor a drug search! vously rolls down the window, reing a strong scent of air fresh. Is he trying to hide something? Aninspector directs the van to ha Fa Ta i tt street. Andrew Turner congratulates his dog, Willie, on the find and gives high-fives to the other in- spectors gatheredto checkout the score “This,” Turner says, “makesit all worthwhile.” But the inspectors are aware that while they weretied up with this bust, several other loads probably went through, take on a trip. A closer look revealed the tin had a hidden compartment holding a little more than a pound of crack cocaine. Calamia has seen gas cylinders on the back of a truck that had been cutopen,stuffed with drugs, defroster, click the turn signal and wiggle the gear shift all at once and the passenger side air bag compartment lifts open. The key to highway interdiction, said Lt. Col. Ronnie Jones, deputy superintendent of opera: interdiction officer, for example will pull over 40 to 50 a day Back in Indiana, Wildauer sil in the shadow of an overpas: waiting for the next traffic viola resealed and pressurized. He's seen cars rigged with intricate trick compartments: turn on the lice, is pulling over as many vehicles as possible. One Louisiana slow thebleeding, but we'll never stopit.” sometimes allow themselves to get caught with a load of pot soa colleague can sneak a stashofco- caine through while the inspec- tors are busy. Successin Volume:Dueeast of El Paso, Sgt. Lynn Calamia of the LouisianaState Police is wondering the samething. His stateis carved by two drug pipelines, In- terstate 20in the north and I-10 in of his patrols in Covington, La., pulled over a weaving car. The two women in it gave conflicting stories, prompting theofficer to ask for consent to search. Wealsooffe: © Hand-Clea Visit our one-of-a-kind showroom and enjoy incredible savings on one of the largest selections of unusual, rare, new and antique handwoven masterpieces at the most affordable prices. Calamia heads state police in- that morning, in fact, one Band-Aid over a bul he says. “We mi let wound,” &DIB' S RUG GALLERY thesouth. terdiction efforts. In thefirs en months of 1998, his 25-person team confiscated more than $15.8 million in drugs on Louisianainterstates. tion, the next potential druy bust Te eM MUGUPRCoe eo RMU MCalat Smug- glers, an agent explains, will Just tions for the Louisiana State Po- At Adib's, experience the magical beauty, quality, enchanting patterns, and craftsmanship of timeless artwork. Largest selec- tion of new and antique pillows. In the trunk he found a huge tin of coffee creamer. a oddthing to TTT ee eee ee ee ee ee @ Best Quality Rug Pads @ Appraisals ® Buy Atghanistan - China - Turkey Dangling a hore - India - Pakistan PRESS dauerknowsit's out there. Z Persian BY REX W. HUPPKE THE ASSOCIATED at how law enforcement officials try to stem theflow: When an officer is doing a drug interdiction patrol, the goalis to pull over as many peopie as possible: Enforcementagents attempt to crack creative ways of hiding contraband INDIANAPOLIS — Dean Wil- The interstate highways are used to feed an illegal industry that makes an estimated $52 billion a year in America. Interstate drug trafficking is so immense that the govemment runs a 24-hourdrug tracking center, but the drug business is one step ahead. Here's alook @ Trade © Free Pickup & Delivery 3142 So. Highland Dr. Salt Lake City (801) 484-636 Mon-Sat, 10:00 a.m, to 6:00 par. . ae : |
