At Border, Teacher Becomes Unwitting Drug Smuggler
July 21, 2011 9:04 AM Subscribe
A Mexican woman who is a schoolteacher in the U.S. spent more than a month in a Juarez jail after Mexican police found drugs in her car at the Mexico-U.S. border crossing. She had just been named Teacher of the Year at her El Paso charter school.
This post was deleted for the following reason: single link news of the weird/quirky not so great for MeFi. -- jessamyn
Sounds like a reasonable end to this story, it isn't surprising that the resolution wasn't overnight, it wasn't exactly a dime bag she carried into the country. Good work by the feds in solving this and helping get her released.
There isn't much of a story here.
posted by tomswift at 9:11 AM on July 21, 2011
There isn't much of a story here.
posted by tomswift at 9:11 AM on July 21, 2011
Had something similar happen to a relative up in Northern VT who traverses the border regularly. They used his hubcap and he got stopped at customs. Luckily, the smugglers had used a small marking to find the car again, the border agent recognized it, and so it didn't ruin my relative's life for a month plus like this poor woman.
posted by rollbiz at 9:12 AM on July 21, 2011
posted by rollbiz at 9:12 AM on July 21, 2011
He's lucky the customs people got to him before the smugglers. Those maple syrup syndicates are brutal.
posted by villanelles at dawn at 9:15 AM on July 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by villanelles at dawn at 9:15 AM on July 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
Vermont parents still scare naughty children into behaving themselves with tales of torture rooms outfitted with vats of maple syrup and row upon row of ant farms.
posted by villanelles at dawn at 9:27 AM on July 21, 2011
posted by villanelles at dawn at 9:27 AM on July 21, 2011
The lookouts identified "targets" — people with regular commutes who primarily drove Ford vehicles.
Does anybody know why they would pay attention to the car make?
posted by Tarumba at 9:30 AM on July 21, 2011
Does anybody know why they would pay attention to the car make?
posted by Tarumba at 9:30 AM on July 21, 2011
Calvin Cooledge sounds like a character in a 90s cartoon about eXtreme PresidentZ.
posted by griphus at 9:31 AM on July 21, 2011 [6 favorites]
posted by griphus at 9:31 AM on July 21, 2011 [6 favorites]
Tarumba, I think it's because, according to the article, the smugglers have someone in their network who has a "key" to Ford locks.
posted by Partario at 9:32 AM on July 21, 2011
posted by Partario at 9:32 AM on July 21, 2011
Does anybody know why they would pay attention to the car make?
It's detailed in the next paragraph - the smugglers knew a locksmith with access to Fords vehicle database. Once they got the vin from the dashboard it was easy to make a key.
posted by m@f at 9:34 AM on July 21, 2011
It's detailed in the next paragraph - the smugglers knew a locksmith with access to Fords vehicle database. Once they got the vin from the dashboard it was easy to make a key.
posted by m@f at 9:34 AM on July 21, 2011
Does anybody know why they would pay attention to the car make?
Ford was at one point notorious for not varying key cuts very much, though I thought that was rectified before her car was made in 2002-3. There were lots of "weird news" stories in the 90's about absentminded people who drove off in someone else's same model-same color Ford because their key happened to work.
Maybe the smugglers just had access to a full range about Ford keys. At any rate, I'm sure it was about access to the Ford cars.
posted by Mayor Curley at 9:35 AM on July 21, 2011
Ford was at one point notorious for not varying key cuts very much, though I thought that was rectified before her car was made in 2002-3. There were lots of "weird news" stories in the 90's about absentminded people who drove off in someone else's same model-same color Ford because their key happened to work.
Maybe the smugglers just had access to a full range about Ford keys. At any rate, I'm sure it was about access to the Ford cars.
posted by Mayor Curley at 9:35 AM on July 21, 2011
....a locksmith with access to Fords vehicle database. Once they got the vin from the dashboard it was easy to make a key.
Wha? Why does Ford keep key patterns on file? If Facebook (or whoever) kept a cleartext version of your password "just in case" it'd be pretty stupid. Same thing here.
If you lock your keys in, a locksmith can help you without having to make a copy of the original key from blueprints downloaded from Ford.
posted by DU at 9:38 AM on July 21, 2011
Wha? Why does Ford keep key patterns on file? If Facebook (or whoever) kept a cleartext version of your password "just in case" it'd be pretty stupid. Same thing here.
If you lock your keys in, a locksmith can help you without having to make a copy of the original key from blueprints downloaded from Ford.
posted by DU at 9:38 AM on July 21, 2011
not really DU, some keys have computer chips that alot of locksmiths don't handle. These keys are usually obtained from a dealership when lost.
posted by clavdivs at 9:40 AM on July 21, 2011
posted by clavdivs at 9:40 AM on July 21, 2011
"If you lock your keys in, a locksmith can help you without having to make a copy of the original key from blueprints downloaded from Ford."
which does you no good if you lose your keys... Every manufacturer can make you a new key using your VIN, it's that or replace the whole lock (and your door locks as well, I guess).
posted by tomswift at 9:41 AM on July 21, 2011
which does you no good if you lose your keys... Every manufacturer can make you a new key using your VIN, it's that or replace the whole lock (and your door locks as well, I guess).
posted by tomswift at 9:41 AM on July 21, 2011
Does anybody know why they would pay attention to the car make?
In addition to the key thing, I remember a few years ago reading a study that found that the most common car used for transporting drugs was an older model Nissan Sentra, closely followed by Toyota Corollas; the logic being that they are everywhere, dirt cheap, and reliable, all of which adds up to something like 'anonymous'.
Fords have come a long way the last decade or so, and are starting to exhibit a lot of the qualities that made older, cheap Japanese sedans popular for smuggling.
posted by quin at 9:41 AM on July 21, 2011
In addition to the key thing, I remember a few years ago reading a study that found that the most common car used for transporting drugs was an older model Nissan Sentra, closely followed by Toyota Corollas; the logic being that they are everywhere, dirt cheap, and reliable, all of which adds up to something like 'anonymous'.
Fords have come a long way the last decade or so, and are starting to exhibit a lot of the qualities that made older, cheap Japanese sedans popular for smuggling.
posted by quin at 9:41 AM on July 21, 2011
Ford was at one point notorious for not varying key cuts very much
Reminds me of the time my dad lost the key to our [brand name withheld] camper trailer, and the guy at the dealership, without asking for so much as the model number, just handed him a key that worked perfectly.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:41 AM on July 21, 2011
Reminds me of the time my dad lost the key to our [brand name withheld] camper trailer, and the guy at the dealership, without asking for so much as the model number, just handed him a key that worked perfectly.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:41 AM on July 21, 2011
There are worse things happening in Juarez than this. Like, a billion times worse.
posted by ethnomethodologist at 9:46 AM on July 21, 2011
posted by ethnomethodologist at 9:46 AM on July 21, 2011
I'm curious why these guys would use that elaborate Ford codebreaking scheme instead of, say, a wedgy wooden doorstop and a coat hanger.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:48 AM on July 21, 2011
posted by Sys Rq at 9:48 AM on July 21, 2011
Calvin Cooledge sounds like a character in a 90s cartoon about eXtreme PresidentZ.
Silent Kalvin Kooledge - Lets his rad guitar skills do all the talking
Honest Abroheim Linkin' - Splits rails and shreds pools with equal ease
Billy How Hard Taft - Doesn't let his size hold him back from whatever ruckus the guys are getting into
Franklin Piercing - The ladies love how he slices through the air with his turbo-charged hang glider
Ron Ragin' - Normally the brains of the operation, but don't make him angry!
Together they are: The Kommanders in Sweet
posted by Copronymus at 9:49 AM on July 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
Silent Kalvin Kooledge - Lets his rad guitar skills do all the talking
Honest Abroheim Linkin' - Splits rails and shreds pools with equal ease
Billy How Hard Taft - Doesn't let his size hold him back from whatever ruckus the guys are getting into
Franklin Piercing - The ladies love how he slices through the air with his turbo-charged hang glider
Ron Ragin' - Normally the brains of the operation, but don't make him angry!
Together they are: The Kommanders in Sweet
posted by Copronymus at 9:49 AM on July 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
There isn't much of a story here.
I think the story is that the Feds did something right.
posted by klanawa at 9:52 AM on July 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
I think the story is that the Feds did something right.
posted by klanawa at 9:52 AM on July 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
... I thought it was like a bad dream," she says. "I thought, 'This is not real. This is not happening to me.'
Inside was more than 100 pounds of marijuana.
I have the same dream all the time but it's not bad.
posted by HumanComplex at 9:52 AM on July 21, 2011
Inside was more than 100 pounds of marijuana.
I have the same dream all the time but it's not bad.
posted by HumanComplex at 9:52 AM on July 21, 2011
agreed. what i liked about this story when i read it, is that something actually worked right. the fbi was able to illuminate a related case, with information about an ongoing investigation, and as a result, this story did not end bad.
posted by rude.boy at 9:57 AM on July 21, 2011
posted by rude.boy at 9:57 AM on July 21, 2011
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Something about this framing makes me uncomfortable.
posted by Blasdelb at 9:09 AM on July 21, 2011 [3 favorites]