We call it "targeting." Outsiders call it profiling. I call it pattern recognition.
Tomorrow, I’ll be back at 6:00 AM. The screens will hum. The cargo doors will open. And I’ll stand on the invisible line between the global economy and the rule of law. customs frontline
Because of the catch . That moment when the scanner reveals a hidden compartment. The moment the dog sits down next to a suitcase full of counterfeit medicine that would have hurt someone’s child. The moment the data matches the intuition. We call it "targeting
How do I know? They won’t make eye contact. Their knuckles are white on their roller bag. When I ask, "Did you buy anything abroad?" they answer too quickly: "Nothing. No. Nothing at all." The screens will hum
That’s when the smuggler tries to blend in. A truck driver with a "rush order" who refuses to open the back pallet. A warehouse worker who suddenly has a new Rolex. We work hand-in-hand with police and sniffer dogs here. We cut open stuffed animals, drill into steel shipping containers, and sift through tons of sand looking for fentanyl or fake pills.