Posted on 06/02/2010 1:30:53 PM PDT by a fool in paradise
...Drug traffickers are getting so much bolder and creative that a man recently was snared in South Texas dressed as a sheriff's deputy and driving a pickup outfitted with emergency lights and painted to look convincingly official.
...The truck caught the attention of border agents last week who noticed the decals were a bit different than those used on the Webb County Sheriff's Office vehicles, said Jason Darling, spokesman for the Border Patrol's Laredo Sector.
“There were subtle differences,” Darling said. “They were able to take one look at it and know something was out of place.”
Stuffed in the cab of the four-door F150 pickup were 1,000 pounds of marijuana, according to the Border Patrol, which made the arrest northeast of Laredo.
The driver, Oscar J. Garcia, was headed to Houston wearing a security guard badge with his uniform but no gun, according to the arrest affidavit. He has been charged with drug trafficking in federal court in Corpus Christi.
“I have nothing to say to you all,” he reportedly told agents when arrested.
The words “Webb County Sheriff” and “911” blazed from the side of the truck, complete with a fake serial number on the tailgate. Authorities confirmed their suspicions that the truck was a fake by contacting the Sheriff's Office, which said it didn't have any trucks in the area.
...Previous smuggling attempts have included disguising drivers to look like express-mail company employees, oil field workers and Texas state government employees.
“We take it as desperation from smugglers,” Darling said, “the lengths smugglers will go to move their contraband into the United States.”
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
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