01x04 - Coke in the Coat

[bunniefuu]

ALBRITTON: How you doing, man?
Where are you coming from?

Okay. Okay.
Is that where you live?

What are you doing here?

This is your first time?

Just do me a favor. Follow him.

We're gonna just go ahead

and talk to you
a little bit more, Okay?

You said these are all
your bags, right?

Anything else
in your pockets, sir?

RODRIGUEZ: Any knives? Scissors?

ALBRITTON: Any weapons? Firearm?
Anything like that? No?

RODRIGUEZ:
Alright, have a seat. Okay?

*

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Are you serious?

(laughs)

ALBRITTON: That's interesting.

(laughs)

ALBRITTON: Like he needs to go
in a washing machine.

RODRIGUEZ: How long
have you had that?

RODRIGUEZ: Really?

How old are you?

Do you, do you talk to them?

ALBRITTON: You know what?

There's a lot of closet
stuffed animal talkers.

So, it's okay.

ALBRITTON: All right.
You're good to go, man.

Go ahead and pack
these bags up for me.

*

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HERNANDEZ: Box number 35.

*

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KEARSE: Our main focus
here in mail

is to inspect cargo
and shipments

coming into the country,

looking for items
that are being smuggled.

KEARSE: It can go anywhere
from 20,000

up to 100,000 or more
parcels or letters a day.

There's something in there.

OFFICER: We've identified
a package containing a doll

with an anomaly inside.

It could be anything.

KEARSE: They'll find all kinds
of ways to smuggle items.

We have the items coming in
that are being disguised.

OFFICER: It appears to be
silica or a drying agent.

So we're gonna release it
and let it go on its way.

KEARSE: Like 99% of the time

we know that a lot of the items
are gonna be good,

but then, from time to time,
in these shipments,

we do get something major.

SERRANO: So, it looks like
something is right here,

I'm not sure.

KEARSE: So, let's go ahead
and prep it for examination.

The officers
intercepted a parcel

containing different types
of arts and crafts,

and further examination revealed
the frames of the paintings

had some anomalies.

We're gonna have to test
to determine what it is.

*

And that's a positive test
for cocaine.

We're gonna notify HSI to pursue
a further investigation.

AGENT: It's not the powder,
it's become like...

AGENT: It's more crystal.

The more powder it is,
the more cut it is.

MIGUEL: This package
came from Haiti,

destined for Riviera Beach
in Florida.

In between all of the paintings,
a layer of cocaine within them,

and there was a total of eight.

MIGUEL: The total weight
of this shipment

was 1.32 kilograms of cocaine,

worth up to $100,000
in street value.

So now that we have
the possession of the cocaine,

our goal is to identify
the recipients

and dismantle
the criminal organization

behind this effort here.

*

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FINN: How you doing today?

Can I see your passport, please?

Anybody coming off a plane
from an international flight

is a potential suspect to us.

Doesn't matter how old they are,
race, sex, where they're from.

There's no textbook to show us

who are the people swallowing
drugs or smuggling drugs.

So, we got to be
on our toes, eyes open

and listening
to everything around us

because you never know when
that person we're looking for

will cross your path.

LEON: We're expecting
a high-risk flight

coming in from
the Dominican Republic.

FINN: Oh, it's pulling in now.

We've been seeing drugs coming

out of the Dominican Republic
for a long time.

The Dominican Republic is known
as a transit country

for narcotics
out of South America.

So, it's like a middle ground

before their drugs make
their way over here to the U.S.

Passports out, please!

Pasaportes en sus manos.

We've seen all types
of drugs coming there,

but primarily cocaine
and heroin.

LEON: Have your passports out,
ladies and gentlemen.

FINN: There's one individual
traveling in a wheelchair

we wanna talk to
a little bit more.

He's showing some similarities
to a seizure we had

a couple weeks ago
of an internal courier.

LEON: How you doing, buddy?

FINN: We've always seen
internal couriers

coming out of
the Dominican Republic.

LEON: Good, brother.
Have a good night.

FINN: They'll swallow pellets

and try to bring them
in their stomachs.

It's one of the methods they use

to bring drugs
into the United States.

Passports out.
Pasaporte en su mano.

LEON: As soon as I requested
to see his documents,

he automatically requested
to go to the restroom.

That does draw a flag for us.

So, he said he needs
the restroom.

LEON: We've had instances

that people immediately go
to the restroom

after having an interaction
with an officer,

they have anything on their body

or if they have anything
in the bag

and they feel like the trip
is compromised,

will just leave it in there

to avoid getting in trouble
with the law.

FINN: So, Officer Leon's
gonna follow him

just to make sure
he's going to the bathroom

and not trying to drop
any product off

because he feels like maybe
we're following him.

FINN: People that are trying
to get things past us,

they prey on the weak.

They put it with the people

that they think are gonna
get by the easiest.

So, they're gonna use people
in wheelchairs.

They're gonna use
people carrying babies.

But us as officers, our job
is to stop the product

from coming into
the United States.

Just because someone's
in a wheelchair,

that doesn't mean
they're not in play

for someone that may be
trying to do harm to the U.S.

or bring something in
they're not supposed to.

STEVE: CBP, they found
eight little hand paintings,

about 12x12, and inside
the hand paintings

were packages of cocaine.

About 1.32 keys.

So, we are going to attempt
a controlled delivery on that

to the receiving address.

The address comes back
to a compound, basically,

and I wanna pass out
some photos of this place.

The aerial view basically
is two structures.

One is an actual church.

It's up for sale right now.

They're not worshiping in it.

The other is
a two-story building.

It appears that there
is nobody there.

So, it's probably
just a drop location.

As soon as we give
the green light,

he's gonna go into the church
compound with the box.

We just wanna make sure we've
got all these corners covered.

We don't know
what's gonna happen

so we're just gonna be
prepared for everything.

MIGUEL: Safety is paramount.

Especially because
of the location

and what we know of the sketchy
area right across the street.

So, we'll get fully tacked out.

In the course of conducting
our law enforcement operation,

we run into a number of risks.

We're obviously dealing with
over a kilogram of cocaine,

and as such the individuals
that we're dealing with

normally have a criminal history
and a violent one, too.

These individuals might use g*ns

to protect themselves,
protect their product.

So, we have to take
every precaution

to make sure that we protect
the community

and obviously our fellow
law enforcement officials.

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LEON: Checked it.
There was nothing there.

FINN: All was clear
in the bathroom.

So, now we're gonna
search his bags

and make sure that
nothing's in there

that's not supposed
to be in there.

FINN: The bag was negative.

So, we did a baggage exam.

During the exam,
still a little nervous.

FINN: We proceeded to bring him
into a pat-down room

and check his body,

make sure he's not carrying
anything on his body.

LEON: Put him inside
the first room.

FINN: Hopefully we'll get
to the bottom of the truth.

LEON: That's good.
You got gloves?

AGENT: Yeah.

MIGUEL: I've been assigned
to this office

in West Palm Beach, Florida,
for three years.

What we're seeing today
is pretty common.

Here in South Florida,

our community's seen
a lot of cocaine.

We wanna make sure that we take
these drugs off the street.

Our ultimate game plan

is obviously to disrupt or
dismantle the organization

that's operating
out of Palm Beach County

here in Florida.

Air unit, status?

MIGUEL: 10-4. We're standing by.
Your show.

MIGUEL: There are several ground
units looking at the location.

And also we have an aircraft
unit that is assisting us.

We utilize our air unit

so that we don't have to get
as close and burn the operation,

and especially in areas
like where we're at,

there's a lot of shootings here,
there's a lot of drug activity.

In fact, the target location
is literally sitting

across the street
from known drug traffickers.

Yeah, this is our target
location to our right.

Right here.

MIGUEL: We're clear.
I think everyone's in position.

We can commence the operation
whenever you're ready.

MIGUEL: Air unit, do you have
visual on the package?

MIGUEL: So, we have reached
a critical point

in our investigation.

This package has been
claimed by somebody.

MIGUEL: There's
a very big possibility

we're gonna be going mobile.

That this package is gonna be
delivered to someone else.

The ultimate distributor.

AGENT: Ladies and gentlemen,
we're about to go mobile.

*

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CANALES: The lady
with the black jacket.

ALBRITTON: Where's she coming
from? Colombia?

CANALES: Panama.

ALBRITTON: I'm on the SIG team,

which is
Special Interdiction Group.

Our job is to interdict
narcotics, smuggled currency,

and whatever else we run across.

Yeah, that was interesting.

CANALES: The SIG team
is comprised of six members.

ALBRITTON:
What's your favorite color?

CANALES: Teal.

ALBRITTON: Teal. Teal?
Like an old lady.

CANALES: We're practically
like family.

We joke around a lot,
but we get the job done.

WATSON: Oh, do you have
a business card?

Do you have a name card?

This is just our daily routine.

We're always getting smarter.

We're always trying
to get better.

Once we catch them,
they're on to the next thing.

So, we got to find
that next thing.

ALBRITTON: How you doing?
WOMAN: Fine.

ALBRITTON: You guys together?
WOMAN: Yeah.

ALBRITTON: Where are you two
coming from today?

Alright. What were you
doing out there?

ALBRITTON: Okay.

ALBRITTON: A horse breeder?
WOMAN: Yeah.

ALBRITTON: It's like two
different spectrums, right?

WOMAN: Yeah.

ALBRITTON:
I like to talk to people

and have fun and laugh and joke,

but at the same time I take
what we do very seriously.

ALBRITTON: You live in Istanbul?
WOMAN: Yeah.

ALBRITTON: Alright. What are you
two doing in the United States?

ALBRITTON: Oh, it was.

Flights originating
from Istanbul

have been kind of
a flight of interest.

Some narcotic seizures
coming from that country

as well as a lot
of undeclared currency.

How much cash you guys
traveling with?

ALBRITTON: I asked them
a question about currency.

The first thing
out their mouth was ten.

Then it went
from ten to eight or nine.

Follow this handsome man
right here for me, okay?

So, we're gonna go ahead
and take a look.

Okay, ma'am. Sir?
Is this the currency here?

WOMAN: Yeah.

ALBRITTON: Alright. Any other
currency anywhere else?

I'm just placing it right here.

That way you guys
keep an eye on it. Okay?

So, this is just
your birthday trip?

ALBRITTON: Oh! Why didn't you go
to the Maldives? Come on.

A lot of times when people
get selected for a random exam,

they're all freaked out.

They think they did
something wrong.

I put myself in their shoes.

If I was gonna be stopped
by some law enforcement officer,

going through my bag,
asking me questions,

I would be a bit uncomfortable.

I'm good over here.

Sir, you can go ahead
and grab your money

and put it in your bag, okay?

You know, you go with your gut.

If something is off,
you inspect their baggage,

you get their story.

You don't find anything,
you don't find anything.

I mean, it's all good.

This guy's about to
sprint out of here.

He's gonna be a track star.

Alright, you guys.

Enjoy, okay?

*

*

LEON: Done.

FINN: When we get
into the interview,

we're talking about their story,
about their travel history.

He shows some similarities
to an internal courier we had

a couple weeks ago
that we arrested.

So, we just have to get
a little bit more in depth

with the questioning,
give us a better idea

if we need to elevate to
a potential medical examination

to see what's inside
their stomach.

You went down there
in January, you said?

FINN: And how did this trip
come about?

LEON: He said he's not
working right now.

He said when it gets cold,

he doesn't wanna stay here for
the cold, so he goes over there.

FINN: Are your sisters that live
in that house, are they married?

FINN: So, what other family
do you have

in the Dominican Republic
that live in El Campo?

LEON: He said, look, I--

FINN: Cut him off.
LEON: Huh?

FINN: Cut him off and ask him
to answer the question.

FINN: Cousins? Uncles?

LEON: He said, yeah,
I got cousins.

LEON: He said, I know more,

but I don't associate
myself with them

because I live more here.

FINN: He's dancing around this.

LEON: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

FINN: How about Inocencio?

MAN: Hmm?

FINN: Inocencia.

LEON: He said he knows that
person but they're not family.

FINN: Okay. And how do
you know him?

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FINN: Well, how do you, well,
how do you know him?

LEON: (speaks Spanish)
He said it's a female.

LEON: Uh-huh.

LEON: He said that
his sister Consuelo

actually took care of Inocencia
when she was pregnant.

FINN: It's a girl?
LEON: He's saying it's a female.

FINN: No, this is a guy.

LEON: He said,
"No. I don't know."

Are you sure it's not Ignicio?

FINN: Yeah.
However you spell it.

LEON: He said,
"No, I don't know."

LEON: He said, he said maybe
you guys are confusing me

with somebody else.

LEON: He said, "My father's
never showed me

to do anything wrong."

FINN: Where are you
vibing on this? I'm not...

You know what I'm saying?

LEON: Yeah. His baseline
has been the same

ever since he came in here.

FINN: Yeah. So, right? Agreed?
LEON: Yeah, I think so.

FINN: Alright, let's cut it.
Let's get out of here.

FINN: In the end, there was
no signs of deception.

He was able to explain fully

about what he was doing
in the Dominican Republic.

We got to go by the facts
that they're presenting to us

and how our interview is going,

and we play that out
until we're satisfied

that there's nothing
ill*gal going on

and the passenger
can proceed on their way.

(buzzer)

FINN: The stereotypical profile
of a drug smuggler

doesn't exist.

So, we have to interact with
as many passengers as possible.

FINN: 99 percent
of the traveling public

is legitimate, coming
for vacation, business.

We're looking for a small
percentage of people

that aren't doing what they're
supposed to be doing.

So, to find that one that has

a couple kilos
of cocaine and heroin

is a pretty big feat.

OFFICER: Where are you
coming from?

Five, six, seven,
or eight, please.

FINN: It's a numbers game.

At the end of the day,
the more you look,

the better your chances are
to find something.

Gotcha.

Alright, bye.

We just got word that
a baggage rover over at T8

may have found some narcotics.

LEON: So let's make moves, man.

FINN: So, we'll get some details
and go from there.

LEON: I was warming up
for this moment, bro.

*

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CANALES: Right now we're waiting
to see who's gonna collect bags

that are still pending
to be picked up.

The reason why
we focus on these bags,

they belong
to a business class passenger,

and normally they're
the first ones off the flight,

yet, they're the last ones
that are getting picked up.

Incidents have occurred where
bags have been left behind

and they have had contraband or
things that were not declared.

RODRIGUEZ: Alright,
let's walk away and then

we'll pick him up at the,
we'll pick him up at the thing.

LARA: Yup.
RODRIGUEZ: Alright.

CANALES: 10-4.

Right now it just appears
that the owner of the luggage

maybe has an eye on us.

So, we're just gonna move
away from the area,

see if that gives him interest
to go and pick up the bags.

RODRIGUEZ: Go.

CANALES: So, they just confirmed
on the radio

it is a male subject
that we're looking for.

WATSON: If you guys want I'll
put on some regular clothes

and start walking around if he's
already identified you guys.

CANALES:
How fast can you change?

WATSON: Real fast.

CANALES: Okay, we'll be here.

Chief Watson's gonna
go change into plain clothes

and see if she can walk around
and identify the subject

since he hasn't seen her
out here in uniform.

Maybe she's able
to get eyes on him

before he comes down
to get the bags.

WATSON: Alright,
I'll go look for him.

MIGUEL: He was in a white sedan,
he's got the package,

and it's going northbound.

MIGUEL: Garage?
AGENT: Yup.

MIGUEL: There's a possibility

that this individual's
conducting a heat run.

What this means is that
he's trying to identify

if law enforcement
is following him.

AGENT: If they do indeed
have counter surveillance,

they're gonna be looking hard
to find the police.

AGENT: Looks like it's up here.

See the white car?

Mercedes here.

MIGUEL: The package is
inside this same white sedan.

AGENT: He cut back over.

He is doing heat runs, though.

MIGUEL: Alright, we're
gonna be frickin' blocked.

AGENT: Don't stop. He's turning.

MIGUEL: I can't see.
Did we lose him?

AGENT: Oh, (bleep).

MIGUEL: Unfortunately,
we've lost eyes,

meaning that we
do not have a visual

on the individual and package.

MIGUEL: Alright.

MIGUEL: I'm close by.

AGENT: Yup. He's right here.

MIGUEL: He's right there.

So, here's the vehicle
to our right.

AGENT: Yes, he is.

He's in it with it.

AGENT: Someone's gonna walk up
quickly and grab that package.

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PA ANNOUNCER: Please come
to carousel number seven.

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LARA: We're trying to play
cat and mouse right now

trying to find this individual.

Doesn't wanna be caught by us.

*

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WATSON: The subject was
already obviously on to us.

No luck.

CANALES: So, I guess it'll just
be a straight seizure.

WATSON: Yeah.
Abandonment seizure.

CANALES: He might just have said
"Hey, you know what? Forget it.

I'm better off not getting in
trouble, not getting flagged.

I'll just go ahead and take off
without the bags."

WATSON: You don't need
bolt cutters on this job.

Yeah, obvi.

There you go.

CANALES: So, it's
black market cigarettes.

ALBRITTON: They're busting
at the seams with cigarettes.

With the price of tobacco,

especially in California
with all the taxes,

people buy these
very cheaply overseas,

bring them back to
the United States for resale.

And what they try to do
is bypass customs

so they don't have to pay
any duty on them.

MONTALVO: How many
do we have in here?

60, 65.

CANALES: 67.

People may say
what's the big deal,

they're just cigarettes.

They don't understand
that there's FDA regulations.

Some of those harmful chemicals
are not allowed here in the U.S.

This one's four.

So, it's important
that we intercept them

before they make it
out to the street.

MONTALVO: So, we have 406 boxes

and 81,200
individual cigarettes.

CANALES: So, once everything's
bagged up,

it ends up getting taken
to the incinerator.

WATSON: At the end of the day,
we got the contraband.

We got enough intel
to track the guy.

We'll place a lookout on him
and we'll get him next time.

CANALES: Go SIG.
We get the job done.

*

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*

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OFFICER: It could potentially
be narcotics.

FINN: I was thinking
the same thing.

There was an older woman
traveling in a wheelchair

coming from Peru

that may have some narcotics
disguised in bottles.

LEE: It was a little strange
to find somebody

with that many bottles,

and the bottles themselves
were of a weight

that I had never really felt
in a bottle before.

Like, this is kind of heavy,
like, why is this so heavy?

PATRICK:
Liquid cocaine's common,

and they put it in normal goods,
so when they come in

it just looks like they're
bringing drinks or shampoo

into the United States.

FINN: There was cocaine
in the bottle,

but on top there was
a little bit of liquid.

If we just open a bottle
and pour a little out,

we would never find
the actual product.

PATRICK: So they all have it
except for this one.

This has nothing in it.

They're hoping that CBP will
stop them and test that one

and then there's nothing in it
and let them go

with, for this case,
eleven other ones.

It's about 6,900 grams.

AGENT: Six kilos is

a lot of liquid cocaine.

LEE: But the passenger
was 82 years old,

in a wheelchair.

She was very cool.

Gave off the air
that she had done this before

and nothing was wrong.

LEE: The next thing we did
was contact HSI,

and HSI sent a few agents over

to begin the process
of interrogating her.

ED: What did you think it was?

*

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ED: What did you think it was?

AGENT: In Peru it's vitamins.

AGENT: Natural remedies.

They don't sell it
in pharmacies.

ED: Okay, so,
who did you talk to?

Diaz? Okay.

ED: So, Diaz comes to your
house, knocks on your door,

and says, "Hey, can you
take something to me?"

And you said yes?

AGENT: Okay. Getting somewhere.

AGENT: You don't know who gave
your phone number to Diaz?

ED: She stated that she received
a phone call from an individual.

She didn't know the individual
that well, a friend of a friend.

You don't know him?

WOMAN: No.
AGENT: First time?

ED: Don't you think that's
kind of weird and shady?

ED: She stated that she did not
know she was smuggling cocaine.

People tell us this stuff
all the time.

But it's our job
to investigate the truth,

find out who this individual is

or if this individual
even exists.

Here's the deal.

I don't believe
that you're being

a hundred percent honest
with me.

MIGUEL: Vehicle
has not backed up.

MIGUEL: Oh! He does! He does!

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

MIGUEL: Alright,
we got it, we got it.

We got the package right here.

Two black males.

One with a blue shirt,
one with a grey shirt.

And they're walking to one
of the apartment complexes.

MIGUEL: Yeah, man.

MIGUEL: Yes. Approach.

Alright, guys, go in, go in.

*

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(children talking)

*

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AGENT: Get back
in your apartment!

*

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AGENT: Police!

(dogs barking)

*

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*

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AGENT: They could have
gone anywhere.

AGENT: Upstairs?
AGENT: No, downstairs.

(dogs barking)

(child talking)

(yelling)

Let's go! Let's go!

(bleep) Get down!

*

*

AGENT: Police.

Out.

Keep your hands up.

Keep, keep walking,
keep walking.

Stop right there.

SUSPECT: What's going on?

AGENT: Open the doors.

AGENT: Hands up.

Hands up.

Let's go.

Anybody else in there?

AGENT: Coming out, we got one.

AGENT: Need more help.
Trailer up.

AGENT: I'm pushing up. Hold on.

Twice as far on the left.

Can we go in?

*

(indistinct conversation)

(siren)

AGENT: It was a little crazy.

This guy was, I don't wanna say
he was combative,

but he was definitely
non-compliant.

He wasn't getting down.

We had some more subjects
inside there

that, you know,
potentially armed.

They were the suspects
that we were looking for.

(coughs)

STEVE: We have two individuals
in custody

with approximately
1.32 kilos of cocaine.

Street value is
about $100,000 U.S.

They're looking at possession
with intent to distribute.

We have a secure site.

We're still processing,
doing a search warrant now

on the apartment
and the vehicle.

AGENT: He's got
some receipts to Haiti.

STEVE: Putting people
in jail is fine.

Taking drugs off the street
is fantastic,

but there's a ton of kids here,

so it makes you feel even better
when you take down people

that are doing this kind
of thing in this atmosphere.

*

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MIGUEL: The investigation
doesn't stop here.

We will continue doing analysis
of telephone records

and any other evidence that we
got from the search warrants.

We started at the beginning
with just a very simple package,

and now we have enough evidence

to be able to target

a transnational
criminal organization.

*

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ED: This is your
last opportunity.

(agent translates)

Okay?

Otherwise you're done,
and Diaz is just gonna go free.

*

*

ED: Okay. Where?

Okay. In New York. Where in
New York? It's a big place.

AGENT: He works in trucks.

He's a truck driver.

(speaks Spanish)

Doesn't know which company.

ED: She never stated
that she had knowledge

that she was
smuggling in cocaine,

but we got a lot of information
from her about this individual

who wanted the bottles
that she was bringing back.

So we're going to have to
follow up on that

and see where it leads.

Any facial hair?
Mustache? Beard?

Anytime that we get
a seizure like this

it's a good feeling.

This is our job is to stop
these narcotics

from coming into
the United States.

But it doesn't stop here for us.

Our job is to investigate
these crimes transnationally

and prosecute these criminal
organizations from the top down.

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FINN: To know that we stopped
this load of narcotics

coming into the U.S.

that could've ended up
into some kid's nose

and some kid's arms
on the streets,

it's a rush, it really is.

You're never winning the w*r,

but we do like to win
those individual battles

from time to time.

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