It doesn't receive much news coverage, but U.S. cops and cartels are engaged in a "clone war" along the U.S. - Mexico Border. The latest reported incident in this ongoing battle occurred on Friday, August 30, 2024.
Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Highway Patrol Officers discovered more than a dozen migrants being smuggled through a border county in a "cloned" (fake) "Lowe's" delivery truck.
Texas DPS Troopers discover migrants behind the "false wall" of a fake delivery truck in Kinney County, Texas (August 30, 2024)Photo byTexas Department of Public Safety
These aren't crudely-painted vehicles. The cartel "clones" sport carbon-copy graphics making it difficult to pick them out from real commercial vehicles.
But this smuggling ruse has gone on for so long now that officers along the border have learned not to trust what they see - and to carefully examine every vehicle they stop.
A cartel smuggling operation went to great lengths to make this fake "Lowe's" delivery truck look identical to the real thing.Photo byTexas Department of Public Safety
In this case, not only was this "cloned" Lowe's truck a carbon copy of the real thing, but the Mississippi truck driver authorities say was transporting a "load" of migrants deeper into Texas from the Mexican border was outfitted with Lowe's logo clothing which made it harder to detect.
The Mississippi man at the wheel of the fake "Lowe's" delivery truck also wore clothing sporting the Lowe's logo. It did not fool officers.Photo byTexas Department of Public Safety
DPS troopers freed 17 migrants crammed into the small hidden compartment in the back of the truck - some who required medical treatment due to dehydration.
DPS Officers found 17 migrants stuffed within a hidden compartment in the rear wall of the "box" of this "cloned" Lowe's delivery truck.Photo byTexas Department of Public Safety
Pretty much any commercial vehicle you'd expect to encounter along a busy highway has been "cloned" by a Mexican Cartel in the hope of escaping a closer look by U.S. officers along the border.
This cloned "FedEx" delivery truck was used by a Mexican Cartel to transport migrants through Southern California in October, 2021.Photo byU.S. Border Patrol
Eight migrants in the back of a cloned "FedEx" truck discovered by Border Patrol Agents in California (October 2021).Photo byU.S. Border Patrol
These trucks cloned by cartels have also been used in drug smuggling operations.
In 2017, Border Patrol Agents in Arizona stopped a counterfeit "Dish Network" truck they found was being used to transport a large load of pot into that state from Mexico.
This fake "Dish Network" truck was delivering a large load of marijuana when Border Patrol Agents stopped it at an Arizona Checkpoint(2017).Photo byU.S. Customs & Border Protection
Although the cloned van was well-copied - it unfortunately (for the smugglers) reeked of dope as the driver tried to pass through a Border Patrol Checkpoint - leading to the seizure of 396 pounds of marijuana worth almost $200,000.
Border Patrol K9's alerted officers to a large load of dope inside a "cloned" truck as it approached a checkpoint in Arizona in 2017.Photo byU.S. Border Patrol
But by far - the most popular vehicle for Mexican Cartels to "clone" for use by their smuggling operations are marked Border Patrol vehicles!
As improbable as this sounds, "real" Border Patrol Agents have been arresting "fake" Border Patrol Agents (some in replica uniforms) smuggling people and dope along the U.S. Southern Border in cloned Border Patrol vehicles for some time now.
This "cloned" Border Patrol vehicle was involved in a human-smuggling operation in Laredo, Texas in 2015.Photo byU.S. Customs & Border Protection
Some examples: a "cloned" U.S. Border Patrol vehicle [see photo above] was seized by (real) Border Patrol Agents while it was being used in a Mexican Cartel human-smuggling operation in Laredo in 2015.
Twelve migrants were found crammed inside the fake Border Patrol truck in that case.
Migrants crammed into the back of a counterfeit (cloned) Border Patrol vehicle smuggling them through Texas (2015)Photo byU.S. Customs & Border Protection
Some of the Border Patrol vehicles cloned by Mexican Cartels for use in their U.S. smuggling operations have even been found with police light bars on top (see photo below).
This "cloned" Border Patrol truck used by a Mexican Cartel to smuggle migrants through Arizona sported a police "light bar." (2021 Photo)Photo byU.S. Border Patrol
In that case, the cartel driver - wearing a fake Border Patrol uniform - was found to be smuggling ten migrants through Arizona. This is a big problem for U.S. Federal Authorities.
Fake U.S. Government vehicle license plates & a Border Patrol decal seized by CBP officers in Southern California in 2021.Photo byU.S. Border Patrol
As proof of how organized (and widespread) this practice is by the Mexican Cartels, U.S. Border Patrol Agents in the El Centro, California Sector report seizing "cloned" (fake) U.S. Government license plates and Border Patrol decals in August of 2021.
Seized counterfeit Department of Homeland Security logos, distinctive Border Patrol vehicle "green stripe" and vehicle ID numbers.Photo byU.S. Border Patrol
The seized items included Department of Homeland Security (DHS) logos, the distinctive "green stripe" identifying Border Patrol vehicles, and fake USBP vehicle I.D. numbers (all produced for use by a Mexican Cartel smuggling organization).
The cartels are taking few chances cloning commercial & government vehicles along the U.S. Border - which makes the job of U.S. authorities fighting them that much more difficult.
Are more resources needed to fight Mexican Cartel Migrant smuggling operations along our Southern Border?
Share your opinion in the comments on this article!
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