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BY Andrew Hawkes
Officers often use the
term “hidden compartments” when referring to
large loads of narcotics hidden inside of
vehicles. The term is rather generic and I
like to break the term down into more
specifics. Hidden compartments can encompass
both Hidden NATURAL compartments, meaning areas
of the vehicle that are hidden from the naked
eye but are a natural part of the manufactured
vehicle. The second type of hidden compartment
would of course be the Hidden FALSE
compartment, the compartment that is
specifically built into the vehicle to hide
contraband.
Both Natural and False
compartments can be utilized by the drug
trafficker effectively, and often there is no
difference as to which one is more successful.
As a highly trained drug interdiction officer,
you can successfully locate both types of
compartments.
The drug hauler doesn’t
think like an interdiction officer and that is
what gets him/her caught. He is thinking, “If
I can build this super secret compartment that
no one can find I will get away with hauling
this 50 kilos of coke”. He thinks about how
well the compartment is. On the other hand, a
highly skilled interdiction officer doesn’t
worry about where the dope is hidden. He knows
that if he picks up on the right indicators, if
his interview leads to stories that don’t make
sense, then he knows he is going to find the
load of dope no matter where in the car it is.
With that theory in mind
let’s take a look at 10 popular areas of
concealment for drug trafficking, keeping in
mind that this is not an all inclusive list,
but only 10 out of hundreds of concealment
methods.
Wheels/Tires
This can be an natural area of a vehicle that
can be used to build a False compartment in
where the drug trafficker feels that even an
experienced interdiction officer will
overlook. Spare tires were popular for a long
time until officer’s began to figure out that
they were being used to transport dope. So the
traffickers switched to building and welding
steel compartments to the inside of the wheels
the vehicle was actually rolling on. Be sure
to check for odors by letting the air out, by
checking the weight of the wheel tire
combination, and by utilizing a narcotic canine
when necessary.
Bumpers
False compartments can be built on the inside
of both front bumpers and rear bumpers of
passenger cars. Make sure in your search
techniques that you are able to compensate for
any space or lack of space in bumpers.
Utilizing fiber optic scopes, density meters as
well as canine can assist in this area. Be
sure to check the nuts and bolts that attach
the bumpers to the car. Do they have recent
scar marks on them?
Behind/Under the
Backseat
Extremely popular concealment location. I like
to refer to this area as the “lazy traffickers
hidden compartment”. For some reason they
don’t think an experienced interdiction officer
will bother to look under and behind the
backseat. WRONG. Be sure to compensate for
any space or lack thereof behind the backseat,
between the seat and the trunk. This is not
only a popular natural hiding place, but a
popular location to build a False compartment
as well.
Doors
Traffickers like to hide bundles of dope in the
naturally hollow doors in the vehicle. Simply
by popping off the inside plastic cover they
can access this area and simply put the covers
back in place. Check these areas by canine,
and interdiction equipment. An old school
method is by tapping on the doors, they should
sound hollow not solid. Officer’s can also
check for scarred bolts and nuts and check to
see if the windows roll down all the way. If
they do not, this is a tell-tale sign of
packages of dope hindering the windows from
rolling down on the inside of the door.
Rocker panels and
Fenders
This natural area of the vehicle has been being
used for years by Mexican smugglers. You can
check for bond on the front fenders in the
engine compartment, any trip wires or fresh
paint as well. Rocker panels are areas of the
vehicle frame that can be accessed through the
wheel wells and can be hidden well. Canine is
best used on rocker panels. Also check for
Bondo on the inside of the wheel well and /or
fresh paint and added dirt/mud.
Gas Tanks: Another
popular NATURAL hidden compartment. The old
method of the smuggler was to simply unbolt the
gas tank from the vehicle, load it up with dope
and re-attach it. However, skilled
interdiction officer’s picked up on this by
noticing the tanks have been recently removed
from the vehicle. So then they started cutting
through the frame, often underneath the
backseat and cutting holes into the gas tank
where they dropped their packages of dope
inside then closed it up. Look for fresh
tampering underneath the backseat or trunk
area, depending on the location of the tank.
Floors
Can be a source of FALSE or NATURAL
concealment. An identical sheet metal floor
can be constructed on top of the existing floor
to resemble the factory floor. Look for
uncompensated space, maybe as small as one inch
in height that would allow for kilos and kilos
of dope to be lined beneath it. I have also
seen very thin vacuumed sealed bags of dope
laid underneath the carpet of the vehicle.
Dashboard
Look for dope simply stuffed behind them or for
false compartments that are often accessed by
special trip wires, etc…Do Not overlook the air
conditioner components as well.
Undercarriage
Often times the trafficker will attempt to weld
steel boxes or compartments on the
undercarriage of the vehicle. These can
usually be located by a thorough inspection of
the undercarriage by crawling up under the
vehicle or using a telescoping mirror.
Pickup Trucks
Do not overlook some of the great areas,
natural and false being utilized by
traffickers. False beds can be welded just a
few inches above and on top of the Original
bed. Look to see if the bed is flush with the
tailgate when the tailgate is dropped and
opened. Also be aware of the same tactic but
built underneath the original bed instead of
above it, which will sometimes require the
removal of the rear bumper to see the
discrepency. False front walls of pickup beds
can be made using the same techniques then
covered up by a mounted toolbox. Removal of
the tool box may be required to located it,
either by probable cause or consent or canine
sniff. The natural hollow walls of a pickup
truck can hold vast amounts of dope, often
utilized by simply removing the taillights and
packing it in. Check these areas by removing
the taillights, or by checking for solid sounds
where it should be hollow or by interdiction
equipment.
These are just a few of
many areas of concealment for drug traffickers,
but by becoming familiar with them and how to
located them, you have just given yourself 10
areas of the vehicle to make sure that you
clear before releasing the suspected drug
trafficker.
As always, stay safe and
continue to fight the good fight.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sergeant Andrew G. Hawkes has over 17 years
of law enforcement experience. He has a BA
in Criminal Justice and is currently
completing his master’s degree in Public
Administration. Additionally, he is a
graduate of the Law Enforcement Management
Institute of Texas; has a Master Police Peace
Officer Certificate from the State of Texas;
and, has a Police Instructor’s Licenses from
the State of Texas. Currently, Sergeant
Andrew G. Hawkes is a member of the Collin
County Sheriff’s Office (Texas) where he is a
senior sergeant in the patrol operations.
Sergeant Andrew G. Hawkes is the author of
Secrets of Successful Highway Interdiction.
According to Sergeant Andrew G. Hawkes,
“After 17 years of highway drug interdiction,
500 felony arrests, 5,100 pounds in drug
seizures, and over $20 million (drugs, cash
and vehicles), I have learned a lot of
drug-busting techniques that I want to share
with you.” His book, Secrets of
Successful Highway Interdiction,
contains eleven chapters on Highway Drug
Interdiction. Andrew Hawkes can be
reached through either of his websites:
Disclaimer: All
training material and articles by Andrew Hawkes
are sold and/or made available to law
enforcement officers only through secure
websites. Any of his publications that are
made public via internet without the written
permission of Andrew Hawkes are unauthorized.
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