Contraband: Seized at Sea (2024) s01e07 Episode Script

1
It's nine p.m. on the east coast
of Puerto Rico.
Vessel commander LeBron and his crew
are responding to reports
of smuggling activity.
We'll patrol the east side of Puerto Rico,
our area of responsibility.
We've a crew of three.
Marine agents Perez and Chuck
complete the team.
We'll go out to Vieques and Culebra,
go around them,
see if we see any suspicious
activity, any lights out vessel.
Smugglers like to navigate
at night without lights,
so they can't be spotted.
Going up.
It's dangerous, but effective.
The agents are heading east
to patrol the islands
of Vieques and Culebra.
Just six miles from the mainland
these Puerto Rican islands
are becoming a new route
for human traffickers.
They fly to the Lesser Antilles. They
take smaller boats, cross to Culebra,
and from there
they just need to take a ferry.
- Coming down.
- With ferries
departing to Puerto Rico every two hours
migrants are dropped off
and told to blend in with tourists,
in an attempt to enter
US territory undetected.
There's one on the bow.
Agents position their boat between
submerged rocks in a shallow bay.
I've 40 feet.
Good sport for us, we're
in the water, anything that pops up,
so we're in the middle of everything.
They settle in to wait.
When they hear a motorboat
traveling through the darkness.
The telltale sign of a trafficking vessel.
The state of Florida has
the longest coastline in America.
Policing the 1000 mile ocean frontier
is a job that falls
to Border Patrol agent, Sammy Diaz.
Every day's different.
You don't know what'll happen,
everything can change in a minute.
Reports have come in
of a suspicious vessel
that arrived without authorization
late last night.
We're heading now
to Hillsboro Pompano area.
There was a landing last night,
and we'll just see who's there,
see if the locals saw anything last night,
or heard anything, we'll go from there.
The boat briefly docked
in an inlet after dark,
delivered some men carrying bags
and headed back out to sea.
A clear indication
of a smuggling operation.
Sammy hopes the locals
may've seen something.
- How you doing?
- Good. You?
Good. Have you heard anything
about last night,
the boat that came in,
dropped off people and took off?
No, my fisherman buddy
just told me what happened.
They dropped them off, and took back off?
Yes, exactly. So, if you guys
hear anything let PD know.
It's an ongoing investigation.
Have a nice day. Enjoy.
I want to see if there're any bags,
or trash left over.
Sometimes they leave bags, with purses
or something wet, dirty clothes.
Though Agent Sammy hasn't found
any evidence.
- What's up, brother?
- A call soon comes in from base.
Haulover?
Okay, so you've boats landing?
A boat's been found washed up
on a beach a mile further north.
If you've anything tell me.
I'll finish here soon and head that way.
Alright, thanks.
There's a beached boat
at Fort Lauderdale-by-the-sea,
and they believe that might be the
boat used for the landing last night.
So, they'll send me the picture
of the boat and we'll try to find it.
It's common for abandoned boats
to be linked to drug smuggling.
They often steal
the boats from the Bahamas,
then get it across
and later on dump it somewhere else.
This vessel's lying
somewhere on the shoreline,
behind a row of beachside properties.
- Good morning.
- How you doing?
- There's a boat. Can I see it?
- Yes.
We're figuring out
how to get to the beach.
I was about ready to call you.
The engine's still down,
it must've washed up.
It's right there.
To vacationers on the beach
this may look like a regular boat,
but the engine's still in the water,
a sign it's been hastily abandoned.
1000 miles south, off
the Puerto Rican island of Culebra.
Marine agents are looking
for human traffickers
after receiving reports
of smugglers in the area.
Suddenly they hear a distant motor.
I don't see any boat.
Do you see lights?
- I'm looking for a reflection.
- Yes.
Hello.
Vessel commander LeBron checks in
with base for new intel.
Okay, I'll go out there.
I'm on the water.
Yes, give me the coordinates.
Coming up.
A boat's been detected
coming from the US Virgin Islands.
We've a target coming lights out
from St. Thomas.
Small vessel four miles from Culebrita.
It's navigating at night without
lights, a common smugglers ploy.
Got it on radar.
It's coming straight to us.
The suspect vessel appears on radar.
Agents prepare to intercept.
Okay, I've visual, guys.
Five, four, three, two, one.
They deploy floodlights.
It's people, guys.
Vessel not stopping. Standby warning.
Vessel not stopping, standby warning.
- Prepare to fire.
- Prepare to fire.
With the vessel failing to stop
agents fire warning flares
to stun the suspected smuggler.
- Take it.
- Stop the boat. Stop it.
- Stop it.
- Stop the boat.
Turn off the engine.
Put the engine in neutral.
Agents have caught
human traffickers in the act.
Now they must secure everyone onboard.
Turn off the engine or we'll blow
it up. We shoot the engine.
Turn it off now.
There it is.
- Who's driving?
- The guy in the blue sweatshirt.
Blue shirt, raise your hands.
The smuggler will be arrested
and transferred to custody.
Slowly, there's a lot of people.
But first agents must get everyone
safely aboard their boat.
Hands in the air, at all times.
Everyone.
Now the small vessel, overloaded
with people, has stopped moving,
the choppy sea's flooding in.
And no-one on board's wearing
a life jacket.
Hands in the air.
What started as a routine patrol
is quickly developing
into a rescue operation.
- The boat's taking on too much water.
- It's taking water.
Today vacationers on the beach
north of Fort Lauderdale
are joined by Officers
investigating a suspicious vessel.
It looks like it was washed up.
Border Patrol Agent Sammy's trying
to determine
if it was involved
in a smuggling drop last night.
They've the key in the engine.
The engine's down.
With the engine still in the water,
and the key in the ignition
the vessel was likely abandoned at sea.
Some wet clothing.
Looks like it's been
a few days in the water.
There's a bunch of seaweed and shells.
Sammy's looking for clues that
could tie the vessel to smuggling.
Usually they leave trash, food.
There's gallons of gasoline too,
to make it across.
I don't see that here.
They've documents, paper,
receipts from the Bahamas too.
I don't see any of that here.
- How you doing?
- Yes.
We need to identify who this belongs to,
and if it was washed out.
It's been in the water for days.
It's in a bad shape.
The boat's owner can be traced
using its registration number.
- Want the numbers?
- You have 'em?
It hasn't been registered since 2019.
To a guy in Miami.
Alright, got it.
Right now I don't see indication
it's coming from the Bahamas.
There's no pocket, no extra gas tanks.
- Was there anything inside it?
- A wet towel, a few shirts.
A quick check in the system
shows the boat isn't linked
to any previous crime.
It was registered out of someone in Miami,
but we don't have reports
of it being stolen.
One thing Sammy's sure of
is this vessel isn't connected
to last night's smuggling drop.
We've no link on any smuggling case
with this boat
so we don't have authority
to keep or seize it.
So, the Sheriff will tow it
back to the marina,
and then the City will take care of it.
The boat's now the responsibility
of the Sheriff's Department.
If it isn't claimed soon by its owner
it'll be seized
and ultimately disposed of.
1000 nautical miles south in Puerto Rico
the port of San Juan handles nine
million tons of cargo every year.
Today a boat carrier,
loaded with powered cement,
has arrived with a delivery.
But due to its country of origin
Noel and his team of Customs
and Border Protection Officers
suspect it could be loaded
with something else too.
The Sirios Cement comes
from Cartagena, Colombia.
They've been using parasitic devices
in Colombia and the Dominican Republic.
Parasitic devices are cylinders
attached to the hulls of ships
by drug cartels,
and used to smuggle their product
across international borders.
They look like gas tanks and are
painted, like the hull of the vessel.
They can use bolts or nets, even magnets.
They use divers in the first country,
they attach it under the vessel.
And another group of divers
comes here and retrieves it.
Officers have discovered 12 parasitic
devices in the past three years.
Some packed
with up to 30 bricks of Cocaine.
Noel uses an underwater drone
to carry out an inspection.
Pull it. We don't want to both fall!
The drone dives beneath the vessel,
providing an up close view
of every part of the hull.
I'm 21 feet going up.
The first place to check's around the
propeller, a favorite hiding spot.
- Where's it?
- I'm looking for it.
Finally I reach it.
They usually attach nets with a hook.
Chains and all that stuff.
This side's clear.
Now I'll try to find the other side.
Nothing on the propeller.
I've finished inspecting both sides,
everything's clear, we're good.
Officer Noel moves the drone
to the center of the ship.
Let's go inside.
This area's where they put
the torpedo-like parasitic devices.
The 400 foot hull's a vast area
to hide contraband,
and Officer Noel's had many hits
in these spots before.
He hopes to strike it lucky again.
They switch tactics every time
and even recycle old ones.
So, now we concentrate
a lot underneath the boats.
They don't play by the rules,
they've all the resources
and time in the world.
But we do our best to stay on their toes.
I know where to look,
but you've to keep looking,
they always change.
- Suddenly a clue.
- Cesar.
What's that there?
What've we got?
It's a cable.
No, it's a rope.
That's, right now, 28 feet deep.
It's on the side of the hull.
A rope's hanging
off the side of the vessel.
It could mean something unexpected
is attached to the hull.
Locating a suspicious vessel in
the vast waters off the Florida coast
poses a huge challenge for Agents.
The ocean stretches for hundreds of miles
and at any time dozens of boats can
be crossing to and from the Bahamas.
- Everyone good to go?
- It's good.
Alright, let's do it.
This morning Vessel Commander, Dan
and his crew are tasked
with following up on intelligence
that's come in overnight.
We've intel.
Something coming from the Bahamas,
headed this direction.
Supposed to be carrying narcotics.
Their target's a sailboat, alleged
to be carrying 100 kilos of Cocaine.
It left Nassau, 180 miles away,
early yesterday morning.
We get our intel
from multiple federal agencies.
The intel's loose, a sailboat,
and departed Nassau, Bahamas.
Right now.
If the sailboat was traveling
at seven knots an hour
it means it'll be entering
US waters right about now.
We're off Haulover Inlet, figuring
out which route he might take.
We're the closest point
to any island in the Bahamas.
We know the name,
and where they're coming from.
It's a waiting game, to see how far
and how fast they'll travel.
The team relies on their onboard radar,
to identify targets that could
match the sailboat's speed and size.
Our radar can lock
in the targets if we acquire,
it locks on and keeps
a target on it, or a circle.
It leaves updates on the course,
speed and direction.
Agent Mike spots a vessel
with an erratic stop/start speed
and multiple changes in direction.
This contact's weird.
It goes down a bit,
then comes back as a big blob.
He just popped up again.
This guy's course has changed.
It's about 3.2 miles, Dan.
The boat's regularly
changing speed and course,
that can be an indication of
attempting to evade radar detection.
Alright. 32 knots,
but it's all over the place.
If it's a boat, because
there's a ton of birds there
and our radar can pick up birds,
but, it's getting closer.
Whether this's a boat traveling
at speed, or even a flock of birds,
it's coming from Nassau.
- I see it.
- Is it a boat?
- Yes.
- Yes.
Here he comes.
The boat agents have spotted
is traveling faster than a sailboat,
but they believe
the two vessels could be linked.
Powerboats are used
by smugglers to pick up drugs
from another vessel at sea,
and ferry them back to shore.
Right now.
Agents rush to intercept it.
It's almost midnight in Puerto Rico.
Off the east coast Agents are dealing
with a critical situation.
A human trafficker and eight migrants
in a sinking boat.
It's taking water, okay.
- Give them PFDs.
- Hold on.
Take it easy so the boat
doesn't sink, okay? Take it easy.
Take it easy, okay?
Agents pass life jackets out fast,
concerned people could start falling
into the choppy waters.
Please, behave and we'll behave too, okay?
You behave, we'll behave.
We're asking for cooperation.
Put the life jackets on. Quickly!
Life jackets! Everyone, quickly!
With every passing moment the boat's
sinking further into the dark ocean.
Richard, we're nine people onboard.
We're still working on it.
Complicating matters,
a woman onboard is sick.
Ma'am, you're okay. Let's go. Easy.
Let's start moving people over.
Watch your head, ma'am. Watch it.
We've to move these people.
They're making water.
We'll take you out. Come.
Come. Hey, you come.
Come. Come here, quickly.
Don't you all move! Not everyone!
As the migrants scramble to safety
the boat becomes unbalanced,
increasing the risk of it tipping over.
Not everyone, one by one.
There up front. Sit down
at the front. Sit down up front.
Help!
- Come, come.
- Help!
Come, yes, come. Come.
Easy, easy.
The trafficker's the last one
on the sinking boat.
If you move I'll blow that engine.
Don't move.
Sit on the floor.
On the floor, on the floor.
The migrants are all
from the Dominican Republic
and will now be out of the thousands
of dollars they paid the traffickers,
in the hope of reaching the US.
I've a few guys without cause here.
To ensure the three agents' safety
they must handcuff
the migrants and trafficker fast.
Got one here. Look at me, here. Yes.
One guy's sitting on the deck.
One guy's here.
Give me a second.
- Do you have firearms?
- No.
Vessel Commander LeBron's called
for backup,
but has no idea if, or when, it'll arrive.
The Fajardo guys
will talk to the supervisor
and will call back to say
if they'll be able to launch.
The priority's to salvage
the smuggling boat
as evidence before it sinks.
I need one of you guys to help me.
I need to stay moving,
if not the boat will sink.
Give me a line from the back.
If I stop it'll go down.
It's still taking on water.
Agent Chuck boards the vessel,
hoping to get it moving
so it doesn't take on more water,
and also attach a tow line.
Follow my spotlight.
Follow the one in front of me.
- You've power?
- Yes.
Okay, pick that up. Pick it out.
There you go.
- That's all I got.
- Yes.
Suddenly the engine cuts out,
before the tow line's secure.
I can't get it started.
And the situation escalates even further
with Agents having to figure out
a new solution for the stricken boat.
The port of San Juan's one
of the busiest in the Caribbean.
Ships docking here carry contraband
hidden under their hulls.
This area's where they put
the torpedo-like parasitic devices.
Cartels attach cylinders, known
as parasitic devices, under ships
to conceal narcotics.
Officer Noel's seen a suspect rope
dangling from the ship's hull.
Cesar.
What's that there?
What've we got?
It's a cable.
No, it's a rope.
That's, right now, 28 feet deep.
It's on the side of the hull.
Cesar, we've something.
What's that?
Something's attached to it.
The rope could be attached
to a parasitic device,
to help divers retrieve the contraband.
I saw a rope but it's pretty old.
It's old.
It was already there, right?
I followed it down to the bottom
and it's attached to an old buoy.
That one looks
like it'd been there for years.
But still we check it.
But there's nothing. False alarm.
It's just an old piece of rope
that got caught on the side of the ship.
They come through the bay
and there're fishing nets and traps.
And they all got ropes and
all that stuff, and it can get stuck.
We check both thrusters, no dope.
But we still search. Nothing unusual.
With the inspection complete
the ship will be cleared
for entry into the US.
Back in Fort Lauderdale, Florida,
agents are on the look out for a sailboat
reportedly loaded with 100 kilos of
Cocaine, inbound from the Bahamas.
There's been no sign of it yet, but
agents are approaching another vessel
that could be connected
to the smuggling operation.
How we doing? US Customs.
- Where you coming from?
- Bimini.
- Where were you headed to?
- Lauderdale.
- You meet up with anyone out there?
- No.
Cap, we'll come onboard.
Keep it in gear.
The vessel appeared
on agents' radar driving erratically,
raising suspicions.
- I'll accelerate, move forward.
- No worries. Exactly.
- Vacation?
- Just returning yesterday.
- How many days?
- Two weeks.
We were at Nassau, Chub Cay, Bimini.
It was very nice. It was great.
The skipper claims
to be a retired attorney from Texas
on vacation with his family.
But the vessel's stop/start journey
doesn't fit with his story.
Channel four, copy,
it's a 37 to 40 foot Intrepid.
Making sure those passports are good.
10-4.
Agents call headquarters
to run the driver's details
through their system.
Have to run their passports, make
sure they don't have warrants,
make sure they're who they say.
I'll ask you this, any weapons onboard?
I've a small pocket knife,
a Leatherman in here.
While Alex questions the Captain
Mike looks below deck.
The 100 kilos of Coke they're looking for
wouldn't be easily hidden
on a vessel of this size.
- Appreciate you, Captain.
- No problem.
The family's passport checks
also come back clean,
leaving one question
lingering on Mike's mind.
Your vessel's going in good,
our radar had trail picking up.
We went through swells.
We thought, "Why's he coming in
so clear and suddenly?"
We caught a few pretty solid storms.
- We went around them.
- Absolutely.
The Captain's explanation
for his unusual movements
are the stormy seas, which fit
with today's weather patterns.
Hold on.
With nothing to link this vessel
to the target sailboat
agents return to their boat.
Everything was good. Searched
the vessel, ran their passports,
I ran the documentation
and state registration.
Everything was good,
and we sent them on their way.
It might be good news for the passengers,
but agents are still on the hunt
for the sailboat loaded with drugs.
Hey. Follow my spotlight, okay.
Follow the one in front of me.
Off Puerto Rico's eastern shores
agents are grappling
with a sinking migrant boat.
We got all people on our vessel,
figuring out what we're doing.
Vessel Commander LeBron and two agents
have successfully rescued nine people
from a human trafficking venture.
- It's going down. Give me a line.
- Okay.
Agent Chuck attempted to attach
a line to the smugglers vessel,
to tow it back to base.
But with the engine failing
it's filling with water,
- so they're working on a new plan.
- We're ready. One second.
Hey. Get on this boat with that line.
We'll work it from here.
- Get on this boat.
- She's going down by the stern.
Go, go. Come on.
Come on board. Come on board.
Watch out, watch out.
You're not going anywhere.
Agent Chuck's brought
a line from the migrant boat.
- You okay?
- Good.
Line's in the water.
Now they can tow the vessel
back to base hoping it doesn't sink.
Alright. Seems to be towing fine.
So far it's working.
But with the vessel under tow
- they can only travel slowly.
- It's only three of us in the crew.
We've multiple subjects onboard
we've to take care of.
Our safety's first.
Agents follow protocol, ensuring
all detainees are restrained.
But one woman's suffering
from seasickness.
Hey, it's A11, A11.
Can you monitor our vessel,
and once we're getting close
contact the EMS?
To meet us at the office.
Drink water so you don't get dehydrated.
Drink from there.
To help her agents need
to establish the facts.
Hey! Is anyone here her family?
- She's by herself?
- Yes.
- Did she come with a brother?
- No, no.
- Nobody?
- No.
She has a pill in her purse she takes.
- For what? For blood pressure?
- Yes, for blood pressure.
They said they've a pill she always
takes for her blood pressure.
She said another thing.
Okay, but nobody here's her family?
Not from the area?
- No.
- No, no.
Medically trained Agent Chuck
investigates the woman's condition.
She's severely dehydrated.
I can't put an IV in for her.
I can barely hear her blood pressure,
much less put a needle in her arm.
So, I'll just try to do what I can,
small sips of water.
All they can do's get back
to base as fast as possible.
1000 miles north,
off the coast of Florida,
agents are scanning the vast ocean
for a sailboat coming in
from the Bahamas, allegedly loaded
with 100 kilos of Cocaine.
They're monitoring the radar when
news comes in of a possible sighting.
- 10-4, standby.
- 10-4, standby.
We got information
the vessel we were looking for
may be at a local marina
up the Intercoastal Waterway.
Agents suspect rough seas
could've disguised
the sailboat on their systems.
A boat matching
the description's slipped past them
and pulled into an inlet along the coast.
Dan, Mike and Brittany race
towards Hollywood Marina,
a suburb of Fort Lauderdale.
Due to the weather
and the way the sea state was
the vessel we've been looking on
might've evaded the radar
and come in already.
Our radar only works
so far at a certain level,
if they're coming in from different angles
we can't push it out to 16, 20 miles out,
our radar's not effective at that range.
With more than 50,000 boats
in the Fort Lauderdale area
the suspect vessel could be docked
at any of these piers.
- Just for an update.
- Listen.
A land unit soon has eyes on the sailboat.
We're just attempting
to ID one of the people
we can visually see on the vessel.
But further investigations
prove unsuccessful.
It's not the boat loaded with drugs,
so the team returns to base.
It was a very similar vessel,
similar occupants onboard,
but it wasn't the vessel.
And we expected it,
it's early and I wouldn't have thought
he would've gotten by us,
we were around that inlet all day.
So, I'll go home, our shift's over.
But we're still on call,
and it's good this vessel goes slow.
Once it's within five miles we'll get
here in time to get out there.
I hope the information comes
and we can make it happen.
For now it's up to agents
still on the clock to monitor boats
as the vessel in question approaches
across this vast ocean.
Ten miles
off of Puerto Rico's eastern shores
marine agents have
nine rescued passengers onboard.
They're towing a sinking
smugglers boat back to base,
slower than they'd like.
We've to slowly keep going
to save our tow.
One of the migrants
has a blood pressure condition
and has become seasick.
I don't want to move her.
Tell her to keep her head down.
Stay where she is.
And agents are eager for backup.
I've blue lights coming up.
A Police vessel's arrived to tow
the smugglers boat back to base.
- Tell them to come.
- We'll slow down.
- Get closer and close it.
- I'm quarter ahead only.
Tow's clear.
Now agents can navigate
at their usual 50 knots.
A11, go 14 100.
Start notifying EMS,
we'll start getting some speed.
Forda picked up the vessel
and we're out to sea.
Once at headquarters the trafficker
will be separated and interviewed,
facing a prison sentence
of up to ten years.
The proper agencies are responding,
either HSI or Border Patrol.
So, right now they're already notified
and will be waiting for us at the office.
Sit over there.
Sit over there.
As the team approaches their base in
Puerto Rico agents are on high alert.
Close to land traffickers
are known to attempt to jump
off the side of the boat
and swim to shore,
making it more difficult
for law enforcement to find them.
When we get there, no one moves.
Sit there.
- When we get there, you stay seated.
- Okay.
In on four.
- Line two's connected.
- On the dockside
a medical team's waiting
to take care of the migrant woman.
While agents secure the rest
of the migrants and the trafficker.
Can you pat him down?
Look that way.
Make sure he doesn't have
anything hidden there.
Look at me.
The young man's likely to be a junior
member of a criminal gang.
- Money.
- Let him keep it. Check it out.
And may've received a few hundred
dollars to make the perilous journey.
- It's not much.
- Let him keep it in the pocket.
I'll walk next to you
and he'll walk behind.
So, everyone in one line.
The migrants and trafficker are all
from the Dominican Republic.
They'll be taken to the capital
of San Juan for processing,
where the smuggler will be charged.