Posted on 06/15/2010 2:27:49 PM PDT by SandRat
SIERRA VISTA — Border Patrol agents working in the west desert of southern Arizona encountered drug smugglers trying out a new way to cover their tracks over the weekend: Carpet shoes.
Early Saturday morning, agents assigned to the Casa Grande station of the Tucson Sector found signs of about 13 people traveling on foot near Sells, said Agent David Jimarez.
Agents tracking the smugglers found signs that they appeared to have secured carpeting to the soles of their shoes in an attempt to hide their footprints, Jimarez said.
The plan was poorly thought out, as agents are “not trained to follow footprints, (but) trained to follow signs,” he said.
Broken branches, depressed grasses and other disturbances in the environment are just some of the things Border Patrol agents are taught to consider.
“We see these kinds of methods over at the checkpoints,” Jimarez said.
One of the more common tactics used by smugglers in an attempt to bring drugs into the country is to try to disguise the odor of the drugs from drug-detecting canines.
Everything from gasoline to VapoRub has been used to try to hide the scent, Jimarez said.
“We’ve seen vehicles come through covered in laundry detergent,” he said.
In addition to Saturday’s incident in the desert, Border Patrol agents seized more that 1,600 pounds of marijuana over the weekend, valued at approximately $1.4 million.
According to Jimarez, since Oct. 1, agents have seized more than 712,000 pounds of marijuana, estimated to be worth more than $569 million.
“Border Patrol agents remain vigilant by standing ready to confront any threats they may encounter,” said Casa Grande Patrol Agent in Charge Chris Clem. “Traditional tracking techniques remain effective in locating and intercepting contraband destined for our communities.”
Also …
The remains of three illegal immigrants have been recovered near the Arizona-Mexico border. One body was found near Rio Rico by a group of illegal immigrants, while another was found 13 miles south of Gila Bend and yet another near Sells.
Boder ping
That isn’t a Mexican man...they wear RED toenail polish.
Stock photo not representative of typical consumer.
Remember the ‘fans’ that we made as kid with popsicle sticks? I think that some ‘waffle’ fans made of them would make great confusers. I recently purchase 5000 of them for my grand daughters to go ape with, but I’d be willing to sell them for $2000, per thousand....
I wonder if anyone has ever tried putting a false sole on their shoe that faces backwards so it looks like they are walking the other way.
In one of the Sherlock Holmes stories, the perp puts cow hooves on his shoes, so he appears to be a cow walking rather than a man. Holmes figures it out because the weight impressions in the mud are not as deep when made by a 180 lb man as by a 700 lb cow.
Heh! So why are drugs affordable and available to anyone who wants them? Joe Arpaio says they only stop about 10%.
Fabreze has a new market.
If you look closely at a foot print you will see a small amount of sand or dirt kicked up at the toe end of the footprint. That is caused by the toe dragging a bit as you move your foot forward for the next step. If you reverse the sole and heel on the shoe the drag mark will be at the heel end of the print but still pointing in the direction of travel. This is true even if you are bare foot so you can try it the next time you go to the beach.
Regards,
GtG
Your heel impression is deeper as well
Ping!
True for people that walk with a heel strike but not everyone does. I have eight hammer toes and my heels barely touch the ground when I walk. My stride places my weight on the ball of the foot and then rolls forward to the toes. My podiatrist tells me I have the highest arches he's ever seen on a man and my feet look like a woman's that has worn high heels all her life. The really odd thing is that I go barefoot or at most in flip flops as often as not. My older brother, on the other hand, had feet so flat he had no arch at all. They didn't keep him out of the infantry though, go figure.
Regards,
GtG
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