cannabisnews.com: Hounding the Smugglers!





Hounding the Smugglers!
Posted by FoM on July 21, 1999 at 10:48:43 PT
By Nancy San Martin, The Dallas Morning News
Source: The Dallas Morning News
EL PASO - They wear badges, are always eager to work and have a knack for sniffing out trouble."We've got golden Labs, we've got some shepherds and even a beagle. As far as mutts go, we've got from A to Z," said U.S. Customs Canine Chief John Makolin.
"Some mutts, we're not sure quite what they are."Meet the U.S. Customs Canine Unit, a squad of 78 dogs along the Southwest border charged with preventing drugs from entering the United States.For the past year, these law enforcement officers have been walking up and down international bridges in an attempt to pinpoint vehicles loaded with drugs before the drivers reach U.S. ports of entry.The handlers can find theirs a tedious job that takes dedication and patience."It's a river of cars before you get something," said Devin Luse, a customs canine supervisor."People are attracted to this job because they like working with animals and they want to get the dope off the streets. That's the reward: when you get that load."When the four-legged officers wander through the line of cars in what is known as the "roving tactic," children stretch their heads out the windows to catch a glimpse.It was a point-and-sniff exercise for customs Inspector Joe LeDesma and his dog Max, a chocolate Labrador, as they waded through traffic one evening at the port of entry."Right here," he said, patting the bumper, the wheels and the sides of the pickup for Max to sniff. "Good dog. Good boy."Max netted about 10 hits that day. The previous day, the dog detected drugs on 19 vehicles."That's a good day," Inspector LeDesma said.Among the few female canines is Abbey, a yellow Labrador.Recently, Abbey's handler, customs Inspector Mary Miller, caught a glimpse of a 22-year-old driver and had a hunch he was a smuggler. So after the car was summoned to the secondary inspection area for a more thorough check, Inspector Miller took Abbey to the vehicle with Colorado plates."The driver got very fidgety when Abbey got in the car," Inspector Miller said.Abbey immediately began to scratch and gnaw at the dashboard. "Good girl, Abbey," Inspector Miller told her 10-year-old dog. Sixty pounds of marijuana were found hidden under the back seat, inside the rocker panels on both sides of the car and behind the dashboard. The driver was arrested and charged with drug smuggling."A lot of time and effort went into this one," an enforcement officer said as he helped fill a trash bag with stashes of marijuana the size of bricks."I'll give you an extra cookie today," Inspector Miller told her partner, patting Abbey on the head.On a different day, a female driver, who had been flagged for a thorough inspection at one of the bridges, looked on in despair as a German shepherd ripped apart a seat from another car that had been loaded with 102 pounds of marijuana."Will they be doing that to my car?" she asked."Only if there are drugs inside," a customs inspector answered.While some drivers become angry, most take the inspections in stride, though many would prefer not to spend any extra time on the busy bridges."I know they have a job to do," a frustrated Jacqueline Colon said as a dog sniffed through the cab and flatbed of her truck. "It's just been a long day, and it's hot. I want to go home."In addition to finding dope, the dogs are also trained to sniff out weapons and large quantities of cash.In El Paso, no fewer than three dogs at a time provide 24-hour coverage at three bridges and two cargo facilities. In addition to Max and Abbey, other squad members include Tyler, a golden retriever, and Alan, a German shepherd.The top dogBut the king of busts is Spike, a black Labrador, famous for getting "cold hits." When Spike alerts handler Phil Morgan to a particular vehicle, it's usually carrying a load."That's Spike's trademark," said another customs inspector, Andrew Turner. "In my opinion, Spike is it. When he's out there, everybody is running."The canine program started in 1971. About 10 dogs initially were assigned to the U.S.-Mexican border. There are now about 600 U.S. customs dogs nationwide, 60 percent of whom work the border. Southern California has the largest contingent, about 110 dogs.The roving tactic along the bridges began in August.Rookie pups must be at least 1 1/2 to 3 years old to serve. Job qualifications require an intense personality."We look for a rowdy dog, the kind people want to get rid of, the ones that chew up furniture and tear up the yard," Chief Makolin said. "We want those that dominate their environment."Customs officials believe the smugglers consider the dogs a threat."What we've seen is that the loads have actually become smaller," Chief Makolin said. "We're also seeing deep concealment. They [smugglers] are going to extremes. It gets weirder and weirder. I've seen them mold cocaine into plastic and even liquefy cocaine."Made a breakAmong the largest seizures on the bridges this year was 1,020 pounds of cocaine loaded in the back of a sport utility vehicle. The driver abandoned the vehicle after he saw a gold and black Belgian Malinois named Zappa headed his way.Erihk Lawson, Zappa's partner, said the driver abandoned the car at 11:15 p.m. It was the last walk-through before ending the shift that night in March."The dog dragged me to it. The drugs were in the back storage, on the back seat and on the floor. It was covered with black carpeting, and the windows were tinted dark. Even with a flashlight, we couldn't see inside," Inspector Lawson said. "[Zappa] . . . got a few dog biscuits and a lot of love after that bust."Customs officials said dogs are most effective detecting drugs because of their keen sense of smell. It takes a dog less than two minutes to search a car. A human would take three times as long."Nothing is 100 percent," Inspector LeDesma said of the dogs. "It's just a tool, but it's probably the best tool we have."It feels good when you get a load, " he said. "It feels like you're putting a dent in the drug organizations."Pubdate: July 21, 1999©1999 The Dallas Morning News
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