SMUGGLERS INNOVATE AS BORDER TIGHTENS

An increase of federal agents and National Guardsmen patrolling the
nation's borders is forcing smugglers to resort to new tactics to
sneak drugs into the country, according to the U.S. Border Patrol.

Some are assaulting border agents or hiding drugs in baseball bats
and live animals. Others are partnering with immigrant traffickers.
And more drug criminals are sneaking into the country by digging
tunnels under the border, drug and border agents say.

"You're seeing drug traffickers doing absolutely anything," says
Rusty Payne, a Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman.

Nationwide, drug seizures by Border Patrol agents are up almost 20%
over this time last year, the Border Patrol reported. In parts of the
Southwest, marijuana seizures alone are up as much as 212%, according
to the Border Patrol.

Border Patrol chief David Aguilar says recent boosts in manpower have
caused the increase. The patrol has hired more than 2,000 agents
since Sept. 11, 2001. Aguilar also pointed to President Bush's
decision to reinforce the border with thousands of National Guardsmen.

Payne says smugglers may be rushing drugs into the country before the
border gets any tighter. "It's just like a coach making adjustments
at halftime," he says.

Smugglers have gotten more creative as their jobs get tougher, says
Border Patrol spokesman Mike Friel.

"If they just can't hop over a fence and run ... they're going to
have to find other ways to do it," Friel says. "They always have to
stay one step ahead of the game."

Some of the smuggling tactics include:

. Violence. Assaults on Border Patrol agents -- including
rock-throwing and gunfire -- are on track this year to be slightly
higher than in 2005, Friel says.

. Strange hiding places. In Memphis earlier this year, customs
officers found 7 pounds of heroin hidden in three baseball bats. In
New York, DEA agents discovered bags of heroin surgically implanted
in live, purebred puppies.

. Mergers. Drug traffickers are pairing with smugglers of immigrants
to piggyback across the border, Payne says.

. Tunnels. Last year, border agents found five underground tunnels.
So far this year, they have found 16.

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MARIJUANA SEIZURES BY THE U.S. BORDER PATROL:

Pounds Seized Per Year

2006 1,161,785

2005 1,211,823

2004 1,347,356

Source: U.S. Border Patrol