Inside our border's first line of defense

Back in El Paso, the too-clean grey Mercury Marquis is moved out of the lane for inspection.

Agent Lopez: The officer conducted a primary cursory inspection of the tires.

The tires are full of marijuana .

Officer: They didn't even put a bag in there, they just stuffed it in there. This is a field test kit. It does a chemical reaction to it -- the two chemicals. It shows for the properties of marijuana. It tested positive.

Inside, the driver is fingerprinted.

Officer: What this machine allows us to do is there is about four databases that it will check and it will come back and tell us if this individual has a prior record.

Officer: I submitted his fingerprints to our databases, they checked against all the databases that we have, there are no prior records.

Officer Lopez: We will secure him in a detention cell until the ice agents come in and start doing their investigation.

CBP officer: Now we need to find out just how much marijuana is stashed inside this car.

Lopez: A contractor that is going to come out and assist us in dismantling the tires and ah get to the contraband.

Officer: Anywhere where they have an open area in the vehicle in the compartment such as the fender wells such as a quarter panels we have even had cases where they do it inside the gas tanks. So even the seats they will take out the foam and put in the packages in there. Wherever there's a hold, that's where they will put it.

Officer: The individual has the two tires, the front one and the rear one on the right hand side, filled with contraband. Probably have somewhere between 25 to 50 pounds.

Lopez : We have to preserve all evidence so that we can make an exact weight.

Officer: 44 pounds? Even 4l pounds. You're the witness. That's 41 pounds that didn't get across. We'll take it.

Rubio: What a good dog, what good girl you are! Good job mama!

Lopez: When you intercept a narcotics seizure such like we did today and you know that marijuana or that cocaine is not going to make it out to the streets of the U.S. and you do feel that you are making a difference.

The suspect pleaded guilty to possession and received a sentence of 5 years probation.

Drug store
At LAX’s hard secondary, a Laotian passenger caught with steroids is about to be questioned by officer Brenda Grant.

Officer Grant: This question, I want to make sure you are truthful with me. OK? I expect you to tell me the truth: what is your true purpose in coming to visit the United States? What are you coming to do here?

Translator/passenger: To visit my sister.

Officer Grant: To visit your sister? For how long?

Translator/passenger: Three months.

Officer Grant: Do you have any children and what are their citizenship?

Translator/passenger: He has children.

Officer Grant: How many?

Translator/passenger: Seven.

Officer Grant: What is your occupation?

Translator/passenger: Unemployed.

It now becomes clear to officer Grant why this middle-aged father of seven has taken such an enormous risk.

Officer Grant: What did you bring in your luggage?

Translator/passenger: Clothes ... Medicine ...

Officer Grant: What kind of medicine was it?

Translator/passenger: He doesn't know the name ... He didn't know he had medicine in his suitcase until customs inspector opened it.

Officer Grant: Who packed your suitcase?

Translator/passenger: His wife.

Officer Grant: Who bought the medicine?

Translator/passenger: My wife.

It's a cringe-inducing excuse that clearly doesn't sit well with Grant.

Officer Grant: You are blaming your wife? That she packed all the medication that you were carrying it and then while you are here it was going to be a surprise that you were carrying that?

Translator/passenger: He says he's not blaming my wife. But the truth is his wife packed it for him.

Officer Grant: The truth is that I don't believe you.

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