1999. Geraldo Rivera is at a Mexico-California border crossing for firsthand looks at the tactics used by U.S. customs in checking cars, and the smugglers trying to outwit them. In 1998 33 million vehicles passed this border crossing, and 7 million persons on foot. We speak with the lead inspector at the facility, hear from world-traveling smugglers on their mindset and even see the ‘spotters’ hired by the cartels to watch operations from the Mexico side.
Later in the clip we watch a smuggling plane making drops and see the Domestic Air Interdiction Coordination center, at Marks Air Force base in California. Despite the high tech tools customs always seems to be playing catch up. We hear from a smuggler about how they work around these tools.
In 1998, 2 million pounds of Marijuana, 2 tons of heroin…at this time it is estimated only 5-10% of the drugs being smuggled are discovered. The endless stream of arrests and seizures gives an idea of how much is really being smuggled into the country from Mexico.
Organized smuggling by cartels remains an issue for the country in 2025, and was mentioned frequently during President Donald Trump’s campaign.