Day 4 - Part 2, South Texas Trafficking - Anatomy Of A Pipeline

THE MONEY - LOTS OF IT - COMES SOUTH AFTER THE DRUGS GO NORTH

Jim Wells Deputy Keeps Busy Corraling Smugglers And Their Ill-Gotten Gains

For virtually each load of cocaine and marijuana sent north, a bundle of
cash comes back down to the Rio Grande Valley and Mexico. Getting the money
back is as integral to the smuggling operations as getting the dope out,
says one local drug agent, and smugglers dedicate as much in time in
developing false compartments and avoiding traffic stops on the return trip.

Southbound drivers don't face the obstacle of a Border Patrol checkpoint.
And drug-sniffing dogs have a much harder time detecting cash. But they do
face a gauntlet - albeit scaled down - of law enforcement hoping to
confiscate money and vehicles they can then add to their drug fighting budget.

Cash Cop

For drivers heading south on U.S. Highway 281, the man to fear is Sgt. Ray
Escamilla Jr. of the Jim Wells County Sheriff's Department. Since February
1997, he has found and confiscated more than $3 million in currency, likely
the most cash seized by a single officer in South Texas, according to the
Jim Wells County Sheriff's Department.

Escamilla has even printed up personalized business cards, similar to a
baseball trading card, with a picture of him holding an assault rifle and a
personalized message on the back reading "Never go down the wrong path
because if you do there will be someone like me waiting for you."

1 In 20?

Escamilla estimates that as many as one in 20 southbound cars are carrying
drug money. While other veteran agents say that estimate may be too high,
they say there's no doubt large numbers of southbound vehicles are carrying
ill-gotten cash. The problem is finding them.

On a recent afternoon, Escamilla drove north on 281, eyeing the traffic
headed toward the Rio Grande Valley. He spotted a gray sedan with a driver
who seemed to try to shield his face when he passed Escamilla's SUV.

"That's a good one," Escamilla exclaimed as he stomped the gas and turned
his truck left across the grass median, a grin stamped on his face.
Escamilla also noticed that the car has brand new tires and new shocks,
signs that it may have been tampered with to create a false compartment.

"It looks too weird," he said.

The car also has a sticker identifying it as having once been stolen on the
back windshield, and is registered to a female driver. As Escamilla drives
alongside the car, the driver begins to swerve in his lane, a traffic
violation that gives Escamilla the opportunity to pull him over. "Anyone
can stop cars, but it's all in the interview, the way you talk to people,"
Escamilla said. "It's up to that individual as to how I will see it."

Escamilla and other drug agents say it's no longer possible to profile
potential drug runners based on their appearance.

Everyone from grandmothers to young couples with children have been found
smuggling, so agents use interviews to ferret out smugglers.

"(Some agents) can look in your car and can put together what you've done
in the last 24 hours," said Jaime Garza, commander of the South Texas
Specialized Crime and Narcotics Task Force. Garza said agents look for
clues like receipts, sunflower seed shells or business cards.

Raising Eyebrows

Driving a borrowed car or having recently lent the car to someone are among
the stories that will raise the eyebrows of agents, who figure a smuggler
may want to give himself an out in case contraband is found in the car.

The driver of the gray sedan has a doozie of a story. He said he works for
a car moving company and he picked up the sedan in an Austin parking lot
with the keys inside. He doesn't have any paperwork and he can't quite
remember where the company is based.

Escamilla decides to have the department's drug dog inspect the car and
instructs the driver to follow him to the station. Once there, the dog
alerts to the front fender and Escamilla uses an 8-foot-long fiber optic
scope to probe the inside of the car's dash through the air vents. He
notices the windshield has recently been replaced and decides to get a
closer look. Because the drug dog alerted to the car, Escamilla has the
probable cause he needs to conduct a search.

Persistence

As the driver grimaces, Escamilla uses a drill to take the dashboard apart
and calls an auto glass company to remove the windshield. Escamilla said
maybe one out of 10 drivers refuse to allow him to search their vehicles.
In those cases, officers must show probable cause or get a search warrant.

Privately, many say they won't go through the trouble unless they're
convinced the vehicle is carrying contraband.

But once the car is opened up, Escamilla doesn't find the expected bundles
of cash hidden inside. After two hours, the sheriff's department pays for
the windshield to be put back on and the driver, frustrated because he
missed an appointment in the Valley, is allowed to continue to McAllen.

"That's the way it is," Escamilla said. "All the elements were there. You
can't get discouraged. You have to have faith in yourself."