01x07 - Seasick on a Sinking Ship

[bunniefuu]

It's nine p.m. on the east coast

of Puerto Rico.

Vessel commander LeBron and his crew

are responding to reports

of smuggling activity.

We'll patrol the east side of Puerto Rico,

our area of responsibility.

We've a crew of three.

Marine agents Perez and Chuck

complete the team.

We'll go out to Vieques and Culebra,

go around them,

see if we see any suspicious

activity, any lights out vessel.

Smugglers like to navigate

at night without lights,

so they can't be spotted.

Going up.

It's dangerous, but effective.

The agents are heading east

to patrol the islands

of Vieques and Culebra.

Just six miles from the mainland

these Puerto Rican islands

are becoming a new route

for human traffickers.

They fly to the Lesser Antilles. They

take smaller boats, cross to Culebra,

and from there

they just need to take a ferry.

- Coming down.

- With ferries

departing to Puerto Rico every two hours

migrants are dropped off

and told to blend in with tourists,

in an attempt to enter

US territory undetected.

There's one on the bow.

Agents position their boat between

submerged rocks in a shallow bay.

I've 40 feet.

Good sport for us, we're

in the water, anything that pops up,

so we're in the middle of everything.

They settle in to wait.

When they hear a motorboat

traveling through the darkness.

The telltale sign of a trafficking vessel.

The state of Florida has

the longest coastline in America.

Policing the 1000 mile ocean frontier

is a job that falls

to Border Patrol agent, Sammy Diaz.

Every day's different.

You don't know what'll happen,

everything can change in a minute.

Reports have come in

of a suspicious vessel

that arrived without authorization

late last night.

We're heading now

to Hillsboro Pompano area.

There was a landing last night,

and we'll just see who's there,

see if the locals saw anything last night,

or heard anything, we'll go from there.

The boat briefly docked

in an inlet after dark,

delivered some men carrying bags

and headed back out to sea.

A clear indication

of a smuggling operation.

Sammy hopes the locals

may've seen something.

- How you doing?

- Good. You?

Good. Have you heard anything

about last night,

the boat that came in,

dropped off people and took off?

No, my fisherman buddy

just told me what happened.

They dropped them off, and took back off?

Yes, exactly. So, if you guys

hear anything let PD know.

It's an ongoing investigation.

Have a nice day. Enjoy.

I want to see if there're any bags,

or trash left over.

Sometimes they leave bags, with purses

or something wet, dirty clothes.

Though Agent Sammy hasn't found

any evidence.

- What's up, brother?

- A call soon comes in from base.

Haulover?

Okay, so you've boats landing?

A boat's been found washed up

on a beach a mile further north.

If you've anything tell me.

I'll finish here soon and head that way.

Alright, thanks.

There's a beached boat

at Fort Lauderdale-by-the-sea,

and they believe that might be the

boat used for the landing last night.

So, they'll send me the picture

of the boat and we'll try to find it.

It's common for abandoned boats

to be linked to drug smuggling.

They often steal

the boats from the Bahamas,

then get it across

and later on dump it somewhere else.

This vessel's lying

somewhere on the shoreline,

behind a row of beachside properties.

- Good morning.

- How you doing?

- There's a boat. Can I see it?

- Yes.

We're figuring out

how to get to the beach.

I was about ready to call you.

The engine's still down,

it must've washed up.

It's right there.

To vacationers on the beach

this may look like a regular boat,

but the engine's still in the water,

a sign it's been hastily abandoned.

1000 miles south, off

the Puerto Rican island of Culebra.

Marine agents are looking

for human traffickers

after receiving reports

of smugglers in the area.

Suddenly they hear a distant motor.

I don't see any boat.

Do you see lights?

- I'm looking for a reflection.

- Yes.

Hello.

Vessel commander LeBron checks in

with base for new intel.

Okay, I'll go out there.

I'm on the water.

Yes, give me the coordinates.

Coming up.

A boat's been detected

coming from the US Virgin Islands.

We've a target coming lights out

from St. Thomas.

Small vessel four miles from Culebrita.

It's navigating at night without

lights, a common smugglers ploy.

Got it on radar.

It's coming straight to us.

The suspect vessel appears on radar.

Agents prepare to intercept.

Okay, I've visual, guys.

Five, four, three, two, one.

They deploy floodlights.

It's people, guys.

Vessel not stopping. Standby warning.

Vessel not stopping, standby warning.

- Prepare to fire.

- Prepare to fire.

With the vessel failing to stop

agents fire warning flares

to stun the suspected smuggler.

- Take it.

- Stop the boat. Stop it.

- Stop it.

- Stop the boat.

Turn off the engine.

Put the engine in neutral.

Agents have caught

human traffickers in the act.

Now they must secure everyone onboard.

Turn off the engine or we'll blow

it up. We sh**t the engine.

Turn it off now.

There it is.

- Who's driving?

- The guy in the blue sweatshirt.

Blue shirt, raise your hands.

The smuggler will be arrested

and transferred to custody.

Slowly, there's a lot of people.

But first agents must get everyone

safely aboard their boat.

Hands in the air, at all times.

Everyone.

Now the small vessel, overloaded

with people, has stopped moving,

the choppy sea's flooding in.

And no-one on board's wearing

a life jacket.

Hands in the air.

What started as a routine patrol

is quickly developing

into a rescue operation.

- The boat's taking on too much water.

- It's taking water.

Today vacationers on the beach

north of Fort Lauderdale

are joined by Officers

investigating a suspicious vessel.

It looks like it was washed up.

Border Patrol Agent Sammy's trying

to determine

if it was involved

in a smuggling drop last night.

They've the key in the engine.

The engine's down.

With the engine still in the water,

and the key in the ignition

the vessel was likely abandoned at sea.

Some wet clothing.

Looks like it's been

a few days in the water.

There's a bunch of seaweed and shells.

Sammy's looking for clues that

could tie the vessel to smuggling.

Usually they leave trash, food.

There's gallons of gasoline too,

to make it across.

I don't see that here.

They've documents, paper,

receipts from the Bahamas too.

I don't see any of that here.

- How you doing?

- Yes.

We need to identify who this belongs to,

and if it was washed out.

It's been in the water for days.

It's in a bad shape.

The boat's owner can be traced

using its registration number.

- Want the numbers?

- You have 'em?

It hasn't been registered since 2019.

To a guy in Miami.

Alright, got it.

Right now I don't see indication

it's coming from the Bahamas.

There's no pocket, no extra gas tanks.

- Was there anything inside it?

- A wet towel, a few shirts.

A quick check in the system

shows the boat isn't linked

to any previous crime.

It was registered out of someone in Miami,

but we don't have reports

of it being stolen.

One thing Sammy's sure of

is this vessel isn't connected

to last night's smuggling drop.

We've no link on any smuggling case

with this boat

so we don't have authority

to keep or seize it.

So, the Sheriff will tow it

back to the marina,

and then the City will take care of it.

The boat's now the responsibility

of the Sheriff's Department.

If it isn't claimed soon by its owner

it'll be seized

and ultimately disposed of.

1000 nautical miles south in Puerto Rico

the port of San Juan handles nine

million tons of cargo every year.

Today a boat carrier,

loaded with powered cement,

has arrived with a delivery.

But due to its country of origin

Noel and his team of Customs

and Border Protection Officers

suspect it could be loaded

with something else too.

The Sirios Cement comes

from Cartagena, Colombia.

They've been using parasitic devices

in Colombia and the Dominican Republic.

Parasitic devices are cylinders

attached to the hulls of ships

by drug cartels,

and used to smuggle their product

across international borders.

They look like gas tanks and are

painted, like the hull of the vessel.

They can use bolts or nets, even magnets.

They use divers in the first country,

they attach it under the vessel.

And another group of divers

comes here and retrieves it.

Officers have discovered 12 parasitic

devices in the past three years.

Some packed

with up to 30 bricks of Cocaine.

Noel uses an underwater drone

to carry out an inspection.

Pull it. We don't want to both fall!

The drone dives beneath the vessel,

providing an up close view

of every part of the hull.

I'm 21 feet going up.

The first place to check's around the

propeller, a favorite hiding spot.

- Where's it?

- I'm looking for it.

Finally I reach it.

They usually attach nets with a hook.

Chains and all that stuff.

This side's clear.

Now I'll try to find the other side.

Nothing on the propeller.

I've finished inspecting both sides,

everything's clear, we're good.

Officer Noel moves the drone

to the center of the ship.

Let's go inside.

This area's where they put

the torpedo-like parasitic devices.

The 400 foot hull's a vast area

to hide contraband,

and Officer Noel's had many hits

in these spots before.

He hopes to strike it lucky again.

They switch tactics every time

and even recycle old ones.

So, now we concentrate

a lot underneath the boats.

They don't play by the rules,

they've all the resources

and time in the world.

But we do our best to stay on their toes.

I know where to look,

but you've to keep looking,

they always change.

- Suddenly a clue.

- Cesar.

What's that there?

What've we got?

It's a cable.

No, it's a rope.

That's, right now, 28 feet deep.

It's on the side of the hull.

A rope's hanging

off the side of the vessel.

It could mean something unexpected

is attached to the hull.

Locating a suspicious vessel in

the vast waters off the Florida coast

poses a huge challenge for Agents.

The ocean stretches for hundreds of miles

and at any time dozens of boats can

be crossing to and from the Bahamas.

- Everyone good to go?

- It's good.

Alright, let's do it.

This morning Vessel Commander, Dan

and his crew are tasked

with following up on intelligence

that's come in overnight.

We've intel.

Something coming from the Bahamas,

headed this direction.

Supposed to be carrying narcotics.

Their target's a sailboat, alleged

to be carrying 100 kilos of Cocaine.

It left Nassau, 180 miles away,

early yesterday morning.

We get our intel

from multiple federal agencies.

The intel's loose, a sailboat,

and departed Nassau, Bahamas.

Right now.

If the sailboat was traveling

at seven knots an hour

it means it'll be entering

US waters right about now.

We're off Haulover Inlet, figuring

out which route he might take.

We're the closest point

to any island in the Bahamas.

We know the name,

and where they're coming from.

It's a waiting game, to see how far

and how fast they'll travel.

The team relies on their onboard radar,

to identify targets that could

match the sailboat's speed and size.

Our radar can lock

in the targets if we acquire,

it locks on and keeps

a target on it, or a circle.

It leaves updates on the course,

speed and direction.

Agent Mike spots a vessel

with an erratic stop/start speed

and multiple changes in direction.

This contact's weird.

It goes down a bit,

then comes back as a big blob.

He just popped up again.

This guy's course has changed.

It's about 3.2 miles, Dan.

The boat's regularly

changing speed and course,

that can be an indication of

attempting to evade radar detection.

Alright. 32 knots,

but it's all over the place.

If it's a boat, because

there's a ton of birds there

and our radar can pick up birds,

but, it's getting closer.

Whether this's a boat traveling

at speed, or even a flock of birds,

it's coming from Nassau.

- I see it.

- Is it a boat?

- Yes.

- Yes.

Here he comes.

The boat agents have spotted

is traveling faster than a sailboat,

but they believe

the two vessels could be linked.

Powerboats are used

by smugglers to pick up drugs

from another vessel at sea,

and ferry them back to shore.

Right now.

Agents rush to intercept it.

It's almost midnight in Puerto Rico.

Off the east coast Agents are dealing

with a critical situation.

A human trafficker and eight migrants

in a sinking boat.

It's taking water, okay.

- Give them PFDs.

- Hold on.

Take it easy so the boat

doesn't sink, okay? Take it easy.

Take it easy, okay?

Agents pass life jackets out fast,

concerned people could start falling

into the choppy waters.

Please, behave and we'll behave too, okay?

You behave, we'll behave.

We're asking for cooperation.

Put the life jackets on. Quickly!

Life jackets! Everyone, quickly!

With every passing moment the boat's

sinking further into the dark ocean.

Richard, we're nine people onboard.

We're still working on it.

Complicating matters,

a woman onboard is sick.

Ma'am, you're okay. Let's go. Easy.

Let's start moving people over.

Watch your head, ma'am. Watch it.

We've to move these people.

They're making water.

We'll take you out. Come.

Come. Hey, you come.

Come. Come here, quickly.

Don't you all move! Not everyone!

As the migrants scramble to safety

the boat becomes unbalanced,

increasing the risk of it tipping over.

Not everyone, one by one.

There up front. Sit down

at the front. Sit down up front.

Help!

- Come, come.

- Help!

Come, yes, come. Come.

Easy, easy.

The trafficker's the last one

on the sinking boat.

If you move I'll blow that engine.

Don't move.

Sit on the floor.

On the floor, on the floor.

The migrants are all

from the Dominican Republic

and will now be out of the thousands

of dollars they paid the traffickers,

in the hope of reaching the US.

I've a few guys without cause here.

To ensure the three agents' safety

they must handcuff

the migrants and trafficker fast.

Got one here. Look at me, here. Yes.

One guy's sitting on the deck.

One guy's here.

Give me a second.

- Do you have firearms?

- No.

Vessel Commander LeBron's called

for backup,

but has no idea if, or when, it'll arrive.

The Fajardo guys

will talk to the supervisor

and will call back to say

if they'll be able to launch.

The priority's to salvage

the smuggling boat

as evidence before it sinks.

I need one of you guys to help me.

I need to stay moving,

if not the boat will sink.

Give me a line from the back.

If I stop it'll go down.

It's still taking on water.

Agent Chuck boards the vessel,

hoping to get it moving

so it doesn't take on more water,

and also attach a tow line.

Follow my spotlight.

Follow the one in front of me.

- You've power?

- Yes.

Okay, pick that up. Pick it out.

There you go.

- That's all I got.

- Yes.

Suddenly the engine cuts out,

before the tow line's secure.

I can't get it started.

And the situation escalates even further

with Agents having to figure out

a new solution for the stricken boat.

The port of San Juan's one

of the busiest in the Caribbean.

Ships docking here carry contraband

hidden under their hulls.

This area's where they put

the torpedo-like parasitic devices.

Cartels attach cylinders, known

as parasitic devices, under ships

to conceal narcotics.

Officer Noel's seen a suspect rope

dangling from the ship's hull.

Cesar.

What's that there?

What've we got?

It's a cable.

No, it's a rope.

That's, right now, 28 feet deep.

It's on the side of the hull.

Cesar, we've something.

What's that?

Something's attached to it.

The rope could be attached

to a parasitic device,

to help divers retrieve the contraband.

I saw a rope but it's pretty old.

It's old.

It was already there, right?

I followed it down to the bottom

and it's attached to an old buoy.

That one looks

like it'd been there for years.

But still we check it.

But there's nothing. False alarm.

It's just an old piece of rope

that got caught on the side of the ship.

They come through the bay

and there're fishing nets and traps.

And they all got ropes and

all that stuff, and it can get stuck.

We check both thrusters, no dope.

But we still search. Nothing unusual.

With the inspection complete

the ship will be cleared

for entry into the US.

Back in Fort Lauderdale, Florida,

agents are on the look out for a sailboat

reportedly loaded with 100 kilos of

Cocaine, inbound from the Bahamas.

There's been no sign of it yet, but

agents are approaching another vessel

that could be connected

to the smuggling operation.

How we doing? US Customs.

- Where you coming from?

- Bimini.

- Where were you headed to?

- Lauderdale.

- You meet up with anyone out there?

- No.

Cap, we'll come onboard.

Keep it in gear.

The vessel appeared

on agents' radar driving erratically,

raising suspicions.

- I'll accelerate, move forward.

- No worries. Exactly.

- Vacation?

- Just returning yesterday.

- How many days?

- Two weeks.

We were at Nassau, Chub Cay, Bimini.

It was very nice. It was great.

The skipper claims

to be a retired attorney from Texas

on vacation with his family.

But the vessel's stop/start journey

doesn't fit with his story.

Channel four, copy,

it's a 37 to 40 foot Intrepid.

Making sure those passports are good.

10-4.

Agents call headquarters

to run the driver's details

through their system.

Have to run their passports, make

sure they don't have warrants,

make sure they're who they say.

I'll ask you this, any weapons onboard?

I've a small pocket knife,

a Leatherman in here.

While Alex questions the Captain

Mike looks below deck.

The 100 kilos of Coke they're looking for

wouldn't be easily hidden

on a vessel of this size.

- Appreciate you, Captain.

- No problem.

The family's passport checks

also come back clean,

leaving one question

lingering on Mike's mind.

Your vessel's going in good,

our radar had trail picking up.

We went through swells.

We thought, "Why's he coming in

so clear and suddenly?"

We caught a few pretty solid storms.

- We went around them.

- Absolutely.

The Captain's explanation

for his unusual movements

are the stormy seas, which fit

with today's weather patterns.

Hold on.

With nothing to link this vessel

to the target sailboat

agents return to their boat.

Everything was good. Searched

the vessel, ran their passports,

I ran the documentation

and state registration.

Everything was good,

and we sent them on their way.

It might be good news for the passengers,

but agents are still on the hunt

for the sailboat loaded with drugs.

Hey. Follow my spotlight, okay.

Follow the one in front of me.

Off Puerto Rico's eastern shores

agents are grappling

with a sinking migrant boat.

We got all people on our vessel,

figuring out what we're doing.

Vessel Commander LeBron and two agents

have successfully rescued nine people

from a human trafficking venture.

- It's going down. Give me a line.

- Okay.

Agent Chuck attempted to attach

a line to the smugglers vessel,

to tow it back to base.

But with the engine failing

it's filling with water,

- so they're working on a new plan.

- We're ready. One second.

Hey. Get on this boat with that line.

We'll work it from here.

- Get on this boat.

- She's going down by the stern.

Go, go. Come on.

Come on board. Come on board.

Watch out, watch out.

You're not going anywhere.

Agent Chuck's brought

a line from the migrant boat.

- You okay?

- Good.

Line's in the water.

Now they can tow the vessel

back to base hoping it doesn't sink.

Alright. Seems to be towing fine.

So far it's working.

But with the vessel under tow

- they can only travel slowly.

- It's only three of us in the crew.

We've multiple subjects onboard

we've to take care of.

Our safety's first.

Agents follow protocol, ensuring

all detainees are restrained.

But one woman's suffering

from seasickness.

Hey, it's A11, A11.

Can you monitor our vessel,

and once we're getting close

contact the EMS?

To meet us at the office.

Drink water so you don't get dehydrated.

Drink from there.

To help her agents need

to establish the facts.

Hey! Is anyone here her family?

- She's by herself?

- Yes.

- Did she come with a brother?

- No, no.

- Nobody?

- No.

She has a pill in her purse she takes.

- For what? For blood pressure?

- Yes, for blood pressure.

They said they've a pill she always

takes for her blood pressure.

She said another thing.

Okay, but nobody here's her family?

Not from the area?

- No.

- No, no.

Medically trained Agent Chuck

investigates the woman's condition.

She's severely dehydrated.

I can't put an IV in for her.

I can barely hear her blood pressure,

much less put a needle in her arm.

So, I'll just try to do what I can,

small sips of water.

All they can do's get back

to base as fast as possible.

1000 miles north,

off the coast of Florida,

agents are scanning the vast ocean

for a sailboat coming in

from the Bahamas, allegedly loaded

with 100 kilos of Cocaine.

They're monitoring the radar when

news comes in of a possible sighting.

- 10-4, standby.

- 10-4, standby.

We got information

the vessel we were looking for

may be at a local marina

up the Intercoastal Waterway.

Agents suspect rough seas

could've disguised

the sailboat on their systems.

A boat matching

the description's slipped past them

and pulled into an inlet along the coast.

Dan, Mike and Brittany race

towards Hollywood Marina,

a suburb of Fort Lauderdale.

Due to the weather

and the way the sea state was

the vessel we've been looking on

might've evaded the radar

and come in already.

Our radar only works

so far at a certain level,

if they're coming in from different angles

we can't push it out to 16, 20 miles out,

our radar's not effective at that range.

With more than 50,000 boats

in the Fort Lauderdale area

the suspect vessel could be docked

at any of these piers.

- Just for an update.

- Listen.

A land unit soon has eyes on the sailboat.

We're just attempting

to ID one of the people

we can visually see on the vessel.

But further investigations

prove unsuccessful.

It's not the boat loaded with drugs,

so the team returns to base.

It was a very similar vessel,

similar occupants onboard,

but it wasn't the vessel.

And we expected it,

it's early and I wouldn't have thought

he would've gotten by us,

we were around that inlet all day.

So, I'll go home, our shift's over.

But we're still on call,

and it's good this vessel goes slow.

Once it's within five miles we'll get

here in time to get out there.

I hope the information comes

and we can make it happen.

For now it's up to agents

still on the clock to monitor boats

as the vessel in question approaches

across this vast ocean.

Ten miles

off of Puerto Rico's eastern shores

marine agents have

nine rescued passengers onboard.

They're towing a sinking

smugglers boat back to base,

slower than they'd like.

We've to slowly keep going

to save our tow.

One of the migrants

has a blood pressure condition

and has become seasick.

I don't want to move her.

Tell her to keep her head down.

Stay where she is.

And agents are eager for backup.

I've blue lights coming up.

A Police vessel's arrived to tow

the smugglers boat back to base.

- Tell them to come.

- We'll slow down.

- Get closer and close it.

- I'm quarter ahead only.

Tow's clear.

Now agents can navigate

at their usual 50 knots.

A11, go 14 100.

Start notifying EMS,

we'll start getting some speed.

Forda picked up the vessel

and we're out to sea.

Once at headquarters the trafficker

will be separated and interviewed,

facing a prison sentence

of up to ten years.

The proper agencies are responding,

either HSI or Border Patrol.

So, right now they're already notified

and will be waiting for us at the office.

Sit over there.

Sit over there.

As the team approaches their base in

Puerto Rico agents are on high alert.

Close to land traffickers

are known to attempt to jump

off the side of the boat

and swim to shore,

making it more difficult

for law enforcement to find them.

When we get there, no one moves.

Sit there.

- When we get there, you stay seated.

- Okay.

In on four.

- Line two's connected.

- On the dockside

a medical team's waiting

to take care of the migrant woman.

While agents secure the rest

of the migrants and the trafficker.

Can you pat him down?

Look that way.

Make sure he doesn't have

anything hidden there.

Look at me.

The young man's likely to be a junior

member of a criminal g*ng.

- Money.

- Let him keep it. Check it out.

And may've received a few hundred

dollars to make the perilous journey.

- It's not much.

- Let him keep it in the pocket.

I'll walk next to you

and he'll walk behind.

So, everyone in one line.

The migrants and trafficker are all

from the Dominican Republic.

They'll be taken to the capital

of San Juan for processing,

where the smuggler will be charged.