Contraband: Seized at Sea (2024) s01e02 Episode Script

1
The crossing from the island
of Bimini in the Bahamas
to the US coast
it is only 50 miles.
US Customs and Border Protection
Agents are constantly on the lookout
for small boats carrying contraband
into the United States.
Are you guys still floating?
Yes, sir, my guys are currently
on a vessel entering Port Everglades.
But if you've got something better,
I can pull my guys off.
During a routine stop,
Vessel Commander, Aaron,
receives a call
from the air support plane,
5000 feet above,
that something more important
may require their attention.
We're appearing to have
like a cigarette style vessel,
four engines. It left Bimini
heading straight towards Fort Lauderdale.
You guys see anything suspicious
with the vessel?
It's just weird, it's riding a little low,
- from my view.
- Copy.
Boat riding low in the water
could be an indication
that it's loaded with people or narcotics.
Undated position is 0 1 West.
- Course is 300 at 40 knots.
- Got it.
With the target's position
and course locked into GPS,
the team begins its high-speed intercept.
A thousand miles south east of Florida
is the US territory of Puerto Rico.
On the surface, it's a tropical paradise,
but the island has a sinister underbelly.
It's often used as a staging point
for cocaine traffickers.
From their base in San Juan,
Homeland Security Investigations
is tasked with bringing
the smugglers to justice.
One of our biggest challenges
is anything that comes through water.
Because of our location and our
proximity to the Dominican Republic,
Venezuela and Colombia in the South,
we're used as a trans-shipment point
for drug smuggling.
Good morning all.
So, this briefing is going to be
about the Operation Total Silence.
This morning, the team is
being briefed on a major operation,
codenamed Total Silence.
Its mission:
the arrest of up to 60 members
of a drug-trafficking gang.
Overall about this investigation,
we started this in January 2022
and we received information
regarding a DTO operating in Ponce.
We started investigating an organization
that was running
the drug-smuggling business
in five public housing projects
in the Ponce area.
A series of coordinated raids
are scheduled to take place
in the early hours of tomorrow morning.
- Do you have enough personnel?
- Yes, ma'am, we do.
Are they, like, both Federal and State?
Yes, ma'am.
For law enforcement,
the operation is also personal.
The gang is believed to be behind
the fatal shooting
of one of their agents
and the wounding of two others.
We were able to identify that
they were involved with the shooting
of one of our Maritime Interdiction agents
that was killed in November 2022.
So, this take-down
obviously is very dear to us.
With the suspects presumed
to be armed and dangerous,
agents have spent months
plotting their every move.
They basically operate by intimidating
and attacking rival members
utilizing extreme violence.
Everything has to be perfect.
We have to make sure
that we don't miss a beat
and when we go in, we wanna do it
consistently and safely.
With the briefing over,
it's time for Operation
Total Silence to begin.
As night falls
on Puerto Rico's east coast
another team of agents
is starting their shift.
Tonight's calm seas and full moon
are perfect conditions for anyone
attempting to smuggle contraband
onto the island.
Eight four seven. Visual, no lights.
And scanning their radar systems,
they've already identified a boat
that looks suspicious.
The speed varied goes to low speed
and then goes back to faster speeds
and that's an indicator it might be
something worth checking into
because these are tactics used
by drug-runners.
Some smugglers believe driving
erratically and at varying speeds
will throw off authority's radar systems,
but this boat has been spotted.
All right, guys.
Everybody's geared up?
All good?
All right, let's hustle. Let's go.
Coming up.
Operating with their lights out,
Victor and his crew head out
to intercept the boat
two miles off shore
making their presence known
only at the last minute.
Captain!
Captain!
But once the vessel is under control,
it quickly becomes obvious
that there may be a less sinister
explanation for its unusual driving.
Hey, what's she doing?
Look, she's hanging off the side.
The girl.
It seems like they've been drinking a lot.
The group appears to be
highly intoxicated.
They claim to have been partying
on a nearby island
and to have lost track of time.
Coming into the spot we were going
to do our investigation at,
they got a couple of buoys
marking shallow water
and they almost ran over one of the buoys,
so it doesn't seem
like they're in the right mindset
for safe navigation.
So, we'll go back to Fort Lauderdale
and conduct it there.
Look, let's go to Puerto Rico.
Is that good?
While rarely enforced,
operating a boat while over
the limit for alcohol is illegal.
Concerned for their safety,
agents decide to escort the vessel
back to port.
They've got too many people on that boat,
so for their safety we'll go
to the marina they plan on going to.
While the boaters appear to be guilty
of nothing more than a good time,
there could be more to the story.
We've had encounters in the past
of a big group of people partying,
having a good time
and they have actually been engaged
in smoking activities,
they have lied
on where they've been coming from,
try to cover up
what they were really doing.
The only way to determine
whether these travelers
were involved in a smuggling venture
or just been partying a bit too hard
is to carry out a full inspection.
Meanwhile, just outside the city of Ponce
in Puerto Rico's southern coast,
a major operation, codenamed
Total Silence, is underway.
Specialized teams are preparing to arrest
up to 60 members
of a drug trafficking gang
across five different housing projects.
This is one of three staging areas
that we are preparing to depart
to different locations
in order to execute arrest warrants.
We have approximately 150 agents here.
We have 30 special response teams
that came from the United States
plus Puerto Rico
police department agents and HSI,
and FBI and VEA agents.
The tactics going in will be
stealth to contact,
so we try to go in there
as covertly as possible
and then surround
and execute our warrants.
Logistically speaking, it's a nightmare,
although we have
very, very competent guys.
Our motivation is the righteous cause,
to go after these guys. They are
bad guys. They need to be locked up.
God we pray that you protect us
every single minute of this op.
With teams now briefed and prepped,
a convoy heads to the target location.
It's now 10 minutes until they strike.
In Florida
Looks like we've got a visual,
standby for an intercept.
an air support plane
on a routine patrol
has spotted a suspicious vessel
traveling at a high speed from the Bahamas
toward the US coast.
That's your target.
Because it's going 40 knots
and it's low in the water,
agents think the boat
could be loaded with contraband
and have asked their
marine colleagues to intercept.
Good afternoon, Sir. US Customs.
Where are you guys coming from today?
- Bimini. Four.
- How many people on board?
Who's the owner of the vessel?
The route from Bimini in the Bahamas
to the Florida coast
is a well-known smuggling route
for both people and narcotics.
The plane called this target
coming out of Bimini
and we often work with the plane
to find vessels
coming into the United States
and if we deem necessary
when we intercept them
we'll conduct a full inspection
at sea out here.
Agents board the vessel
in order to carry out a search
and question the passengers.
You don't have anything to declare
coming back into the country?
No, we didn't even stop.
They claim to be a family from Maine
on vacation in Florida
and have made a day trip to the Bahamas.
So far,
nothing appears out of the ordinary.
A plane's 5000 feet up,
so maybe the profile of the vessel
or the paint scheme or something like that
made it look like it was sitting
lower than what it is.
While air support moves on
in search of another target
Be advised we don't have eyes
on you any longer.
Copy, sir.
We appreciate your help today.
- We're getting the guys over.
- Copy.
the inspection of this vessel
continues.
Agent Kyle goes through
the passengers' belongings
looking for any sign of contraband
but nothing elicit is found.
This time, it's a false alarm.
And you're clear.
Asked some investigative questions.
Everything seemed normal and cohesive.
Took a look at their passports.
All of them had that and that was it.
Good to go.
With the search complete,
the boat and its crew are released
to continue their journey
to the United States.
The air plane saw that style
of vessel moving at a good speed.
It, kind of, probably heightened
their senses a little bit
and they just pointed it out to us.
I mean, that's how we work this.
We pick boats coming from the Bahamas.
The airplane calls out what they
think might be a good target for us
and then we go out and get it.
One thousand miles to the north,
Port Newark in New Jersey
is the biggest cargo port
on the east coast.
Spanning an area
the size of 150 football fields,
it handles seven million containers
every year,
shipped to and from
all four corners of the globe.
It's the job of Customs
and Boarder Protection
to find anything illicit within them.
You guys ready?
And officers are boarding a vessel
that's just arrived from Spain.
- We need a copy of your crew list.
- Okay.
You have a boson on board?
- We need him to take us around.
- Sure.
We'll need him
to open all the common areas,
- so if he has the keys.
- Okay. Okay.
To combat drug trafficking
and other smuggling activities,
officers inspect
every single container ship
which arrives at the port.
This morning's is led
by Officers Dean and Mike.
We're looking for narcotics,
also stowaways.
They looked for stowaways
at their last port in Spain,
but you don't know if somebody
jumped on in Spain coming here
and it could be anybody.
Okay, we're going to start
on the top deck,
checking all the common areas.
You have the keys for all
the safe rooms and everything?
Whenever you're on a ship, it all depends
on what the information that you have
on how you're going to go
about the search.
This search we're doing this
is, like, a cold search.
There's nothing specific,
but every ship is suspect.
Officers never quite know
what they will find.
Two weeks ago, we had a dead body,
came from another port,
they found him
in a holding area on the ship.
I believe it turned out to be
a dock worker from I think China.
Accidental, but just so big here,
so many people in and out.
Since a ship of this size would be
impossible to search completely,
officers target easily-accessed areas
they know to be hotspots for contraband.
All these common areas, the storage rooms,
this is where they could throw
a duffel bag with narcotics.
Somebody take it off the ship later
when they go for shore leave.
They're looking for what's known
as whip-loads,
small shipments
of up to 20 kilos of narcotics
that can be quickly removed
when the ship docs.
What's to stop somebody taking that
out and putting in five kilos?
All these spots are quick easy concealment
if they wanted to put something
in one of these fire boxes
for somebody to come on, open this up
and then off the ship again.
You gotta watch out for the dock workers.
You know, it's all set up.
As well as drugs,
officers are on the lookout
for illegal immigrants
who may be hiding on the ship
hoping to make it to the United States.
All around the whole ship,
you have compartments like this.
People, they could camp out in here
if you're a stowaway and they hide.
They know just where to go.
The farther down, the better for them.
The cargo itself is the hardest to search.
Ninety-five percent of all goods
purchased in the United States
arrive by sea
and there are over 4000 containers
on this ship alone.
On the deck, officers select one
for a spot check.
With this type of opening,
we're looking for a quick whipload
and if it were to be in here,
it would be carefully planned out
in a duffel bag
right when you open up the door usually
or something for a quick retrieval
and they go.
Structure looks good, no modifications.
We're looking
at the little empty area here
to see if there's any duffel bags,
any type of whiploads. Check is good.
There's no sign of a whipload
in this container.
Officer Mike also opens a box
to check that its contents are legitimate.
It looks like it's pasta.
This container's good.
As a record and to prevent any tampering,
the container is locked
with a numbered seal.
We try to check every area
which is accessible to the crew.
Also we checked one of the containers
to check for whiploads
inside the container.
Everything checked out so far.
There's no discrepancies found
on this ship today, thankfully.
A day that we don't find something
is a good day,
but it's also a bad day
because we know it's out there.
In Fort Lauderdale
a team of marine agents
patrolling the Florida coastline
is returning to port to refuel.
That's good.
- You wanna fuel up?
- Yeah.
But while fueling up their vessel,
Agent Todd spots
something suspicious just along the dock.
How are we doing, sir?
How's everything?
- Good this time. Yeah.
- Good this time?
What's caught Todd's eye is
the two large fuel drums
on board this man's boat.
He's got a couple
of 55 gallon drums on the deck,
sometimes can be used
for holding extra fuel,
which is an indicator
they're trying to go long distance.
If you're just here, why do you need
a bunch of extra fuel?
Long-distance travel
in a vessel this small is unusual
and could indicate that this
boat owner is involved in smuggling.
And there is something else
that's ringing alarm bells.
- I already smell weed.
- Yes.
- Lots of it.
- Yeah.
While legal in much of the United States,
cannabis remains
a controlled substance in Florida.
- Is it just you today?
- No.
The other guy, they brought
the trailer back to the boatyard.
- Going to shut the trailer down.
- Okay. All right.
Listen, I'm not gonna lie,
I smell weed on your boat.
- No.
- Yeah.
- This is not the boat. Take a look.
- Okay.
- Any weapons on the boat, sir?
- No.
- Can I look around the boat?
- Yeah, man.
All right. Thank you.
Suspecting this traveler
is concealing cannabis,
agents conduct a search.
While Kyle opens
the many boxes on the deck,
Todd concentrates on the cabin.
We got a big whiff of weed
when we first walked up, so
He said he didn't have anything on him.
I'm still getting a whiff.
Most of the boxes are
full of food and boat parts.
And the extra fuel drums
are currently empty.
- Have you got your ID and everything?
- Yeah.
These fuel drums won't do you
any good with no fuel in them.
- That's why we are here.
- Great having you here.
Yeah, we are going to buy fuel here.
- Where are you headed to?
- Jamaica.
- Jamaica?
- Yeah.
How long is it gonna take you
to get to Jamaica?
- Five days at the most. Yeah.
- That's a long haul, man.
That's why we're stopping.
The man is local to Florida
and claims he needs the extra fuel
because he's planning to island hop
all the way to Jamaica,
a journey of over 900 miles.
Hopefully, the weather's nice for you.
Although it's not a typical itinerary
for a vessel of this size,
agents have not found any weed
or other contraband.
- You fellows have a safe journey.
- No problem.
The man and his companion
are free to continue their journey.
Thank you. Safe travels, guys.
One thousand miles away
on the south coast of Puerto Rico.
We're about five mikes,
a little bit less than five mikes
from the location.
It's 3:00 a.m.,
and several tactical response teams
are minutes away from the city of Ponce
where they plan to arrest up to 60 members
of a drug trafficking organization.
I'm a little bit anxious.
Besides trafficking controlled substances,
they're responsible also
for several murders here
on the south side of the island,
but once it's done and everybody's safe,
I think we're good to go.
We're about one mike from the location.
This operation is the result
of two years work
and has a special significance
for law enforcement across Puerto Rico.
Some of the agents are also part
of another investigation.
That's called Sentinel
where a marine enforcement agent from CDP
was shot and killed
by members of this organization.
And five of the six subjects,
they will be arrested today.
Make a right here and we're done.
Leading the unit at one of five
public housing projects, or PHPs,
where the arrests are due to take place
The thing with this PHP is
it's very uncomfortable,
one entrance, one exit.
careful not to alert
any of the suspects,
the arrest team moves into position.
Police! Unlock the door! Police!
A flash-bang is detonated
to signal that the raid is on.
They're going in.
Open, open, open!
Open, open, open!
Open the door! Come out
with your hands up! Hold the dogs!
Come out with your hands up!
Within minutes,
the highly coordinated raid
across five sites is over
but not everything has gone
according to plan.
One of the targets that was supposed
to be on one of the buildings
that we just passed by, he's not there.
His mom is there. She's arrested.
Now, let me ask you.
Will she tell us where her son is?
Yes, she knows where he is sleeping.
She doesn't know the number,
but she can take us there.
One of the team's most
high profile targets is missing.
If he's not arrested soon,
he could easily escape
but intel could lead
straight to him.
She says he's staying with a girlfriend
in another apartment.
The mother of the target
is going to go with an agent
to identify the apartment
where her son is located,
the other target we're looking for.
Right here?
Thanks to a tip-off
from the suspect's mother,
officers head to another apartment
within the same housing project.
Police!
Police!
With its miles of coastline
and proximity to the Caribbean,
Florida has long been
an entry point for immigrants
hoping to build a new life in America.
While many arrive lawfully,
the state is also home
to an estimated
700,000 undocumented migrants.
We cover a very, very large population.
Florida is a vacuum for agricultural work,
construction work, so we're busy.
Most of the migrants arrive by boat,
hoping to circumvent border checks.
Geographically, we have the Bahamas,
we have Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba.
We have a lot of these countries
where the vessels originate from.
Today, Border Patrol
Agent Matt Mazur is on duty
when a call comes in from headquarters.
Hey, this is Mazur.
Hi, sir, we received a phone call.
Miami Dade PD is with a subject
now that they think is an overstay.
They're requesting assistance.
I have no information for the subject.
I'll call them now, that's fine.
Looks like
we have a potential visa overstay.
This is Supervisor Mazur.
- Hey, how are you, buddy?
- Good.
I heard you're out with someone right now.
Yes, I have someone stopped.
I called you first because she has
a hit for a theft or something.
- Can you send me your location.
- Okay.
In the state of Florida,
whenever Highway Patrol encounters someone
who might have overstayed their visa,
Border Patrol is called.
Agent Mazur heads to the scene.
There he is.
- 220, double time.
- Go ahead, sir.
I'll be with FHP.
We'll be at the 826 West
split off on the turnpike.
Here we go and stop.
We get out and we'll make contact
with FHP and see who we got.
- Nice to meet you.
- Likewise. So, that's her.
I'll interview her real quick.
The woman is from Cuba.
Agent Mazur needs to get to the bottom
of her immigration status.
Do you have documents to stay legally
in the United States?
Yes, I mean, I got in with a visa.
With a visa, okay.
But when did you get to the U.S.?
- Two years.
- Two years, okay.
- And which type of visa did you have?
- A tourist visa.
Tourist. Okay.
And when did you leave the country?
- When did I leave?
- Yes.
When? I haven't left.
I came here and didn't leave.
- Do you have a valid visa or not?
- It is.
- When did you leave?
- It expired.
It expired. Okay.
So, you're staying illegally
in the U.S?
- Illegal, yes.
- Okay.
Okay, then come with me, okay?
The woman has admitted
to entering on a tourist visa
and was supposed to leave the US
after six months.
She now faces arrest
and potential deportation,
but there's more to the story.
- I've got a daughter.
- I know.
She doesn't have anyone else.
- How old?
- She is nine.
- Nine, okay.
- She goes to school.
- Okay. Is she in school right now?
- Yes.
So, she says
she has a nine-year-old daughter
that's in school right now.
So that'll be potentially
one of the mitigating things
when they get back to the station.
The fact that she has a child
within the education system
may strengthen the woman's argument
to remain in the US.
For now, she is taken back to headquarters
where agents can begin examining her case.
Now, we're heading back to the station
and then, we'll start processing her.
We'll roll her fingerprints,
take the picture.
We'll contact immigration,
customs enforcement,
and they'll make that determination
whether or not to house her
or to release her
and have her report thereafter.
On the east coast of Puerto Rico
- Is that the North Port?
- Yes.
after spotting
an erratically-driving vessel,
agents have intercepted the boat
and found it full of drunk passengers.
So, I've given plenty of room.
If he's going port-side.
For the passengers safety
and to determine if the boat
also contains contraband,
they've been escorted back to land.
And I don't think that guy has
a lot of boat handling skills,
at least in close quarters,
so we just want them
to dock wherever they want.
Once they secure the boat,
we will dock this boat
and we'll go talk to them.
- Perfect.
- Bingo.
Once safely docked,
agents are able to conduct
a proper inspection of the boat
and its highly intoxicated passengers.
- How long have you had the
- Twelve years, nearly 12 years.
The captain says he took his friend
to the nearby island of Culebra
for a birthday celebration
where they lost track of time
and their alcohol intake.
And I have to ask you, please
that since there are
a lot of people in there
- that they can come out for a moment.
- Yes, of course.
We still need to board the boat
to corroborate a few things.
We are looking for indicators
that might rise our suspicion
of something else going on
other than, you know,
them having a good time at the beach
in Culebra and partying.
Culebra is commonly used
as a transit point by drug-runners.
To be sure the partying
isn't just a cover story,
agent Victor thoroughly searches
the vessel for any contraband.
Even a boat of this size
has plenty of cubbyholes
in which narcotics could be stashed.
Everyone is diligently inspected.
Okay. I'm good.
Boss, thanks a million for cooperating.
No, that's your job, officer.
Thank you.
Sometimes you have to be patient
with these situations.
Obviously people
under the influence of alcohol.
We had a female there that was
unable to walk, was unable to talk.
So, we have to use due diligence.
The boat's clean.
Nothing, nothing suspicious.
They're just a bunch of people
on vacation having a good time.
Everybody's good to go.
Bye. Ciao.
Love, you are really hot
and you stop recording me.
Tatiana come on, follow them.
Back in Florida
a Cuban woman has been detained
by Border Patrol Agent Mazur
after a routine traffic stop revealed
she was in violation of her visa.
We headed out to the scene.
I interviewed the individual.
She told me she came through on a,
like, she's got a tourist visa
and that her visa expired
and she was supposed to leave.
With no legal right to remain in the US
this woman may be imprisoned or deported.
Inside, agents begin processing her case.
She's being processed.
We have the processing corners
getting her biographical information in,
capturing that,
the fingerprints, the photographs.
The woman's situation is complicated
because she is the single parent
of a nine-year-old girl
who is enrolled in school in the US.
She has the nine-year-old child here
that's in school right now,
so we'll allow her to call her child,
make that notification, set a coordination
where, you know,
she can hopefully get someone
to go pick up that kid from school.
But while her daughter may support
her case to remain in the US,
background checks have revealed
something which won't.
The woman has
an outstanding warrant for theft.
She does have that NTC hit previously.
We're gonna notify NTC
that we have her in custody
and verify that
that's who the look-out is for
and then they'll coordinate
or we'll coordinate too,
make the notifications,
get the debrief going
because she is more of a priority
apprehension here at this point.
Once agents have gathered
all the information,
they contact immigration control
who will decide what happens next.
If you got any trash, food or drink,
please take it with you too.
Follow me, please.
All straight, through the door.
For this woman, it's good news.
Despite her criminal record,
for now she's going to be released.
We processed her as a visa waver overstay
and they gave her
the alternative to detention.
Undocumented migrants are dealt with
on a case-by-case basis.
In the alternatives to detention program,
allows for monitored release
in certain circumstances.
The woman is freed in order to care
for her young daughter.
She's gonna be given an ankle monitor.
As part of the alternatives
to detention, the ATD,
it is until she gets a hearing
in front of an immigration judge.
She will later be required
to attend an immigration hearing,
which will ultimately decide
whether she can remain in the US.
Police!
Police!
Back on the south coast of Puerto Rico
HSI Agent Joe Tyrell and a group
of specialized tactical police
are carrying out a series of raids
to arrest dozens of members
of a major drug trafficking gang.
So far, they've captured most
of the individuals on their list,
but one high-profile target
was not at home.
Open the door!
Now, following a tip-off from his mother,
they think they may have tracked him
down to his girlfriend's apartment.
After a man comes to the door,
a positive ID reveals
he is the person they've been looking for.
Get up! We go.
Do we have a transport unit for that one?
Yes.
Put him in the front.
With the final target in custody,
it's mission accomplished
for Agent Tyrell and his team.
Very good.
Everything went well.
My main concern is security,
so everybody's safe
and if everybody's safe,
all agents are safe, I'm good to go.
So, we've arrested most of the targets,
so definitely a success.
Once we were on the ground,
we moved to the target
and we deployed
a couple of flashbangs on the outside
to cause a distraction.
Everything so far it's been in the flow.
Across the five housing projects,
a total of 45 gang members
have been rounded up.
Operation Total Silence is over.
All the arrestees
are being transported to our base
in Camp Santiago.
They're gonna be processed there.
Then in the morning,
a pre-trial service
is gonna be there for interview
and after that we're gonna have
an initial appearance
that's gonna take place there
with a US Magistrates judge.
Eight a.m
at the processing site
in Camp Santiago,
25 miles east of Ponce,
the investigation into the gang
is gathering pace.
Pre-trial interviews are underway
and with the only remaining suspects
located in the continental United States,
the operation may have achieved
its ultimate goal
the takedown
of an entire criminal organization.
Right now we have 45 individuals
under custody out of 60,
so that is a great number.
We're still working on some that are
not located here in Puerto Rico.
We are working now with different offices
in order for them
to execute those arrest warrants.
Alongside runners, dealers
and foot soldiers,
in custody is an individual believed
to be the gang's overall boss.
We were able to arrest
the number one target
who we believe is in charge
of all the public housing projects.
That means that whole organization
now is not gonna have a leader,
so they're gonna be struggling.
Putting these violent criminals
behind bars
marks a significant victory
in the fight against crime in Puerto Rico
as well as closure
for law enforcement agents.
This operation was very personal.
This organization were the ones
that were receiving
the narcotics that were interdicted
by MIA Maceda,
who was fatally shot.
That is the level of violence
that they represent.
This means a lot.