Using Air Support during SurveillanceMany law enforcement agencies utilize aircraft to support surveillance operations. These airplanes or helicopters have proven invaluable in assisting ground surveillance follow a suspect, especially in urban areas, or over long distances.Surveillance aircraft, manned by a pilot and a dedicated trained observer, should take the bulk of the responsibility in keeping tabs on the suspect, while ground units will be valuable once the suspect arrives at his destination.When following the suspect on a freeway or expressway, the lead ground unit should call out landmarks and the names of exits for the benefit of the other units. In many cases, the helicopter or airplane observer will be unable to read the highway signs and will never be able to read residential street signs.Unfortunately, aircraft have limitations such as flying in controlled airspace, running low on fuel, and the need for periodic maintenance. However, they have proven to be highly effective and successful in drug law enforcement investigations. If drug agents have the opportunity to get air support, use it!Surveillance Notes and ReportsThe team leader should assign a specific agent before the surveillance is conducted to be responsible for writing a report about the activities they observe the suspect engaged in. The specific report writer should also be responsible for gathering all notes taken by other surveillance agents from which he or she will formulate the report (Figure 6.2).Counter-SurveillanceDrug agents should never underestimate the sophistication of some drug dealers. Drug traffickers realize they are in a high-risk business between dealing with other criminals to make money and having to watch out for drug agents. Drug dealers seem to be the most paranoid about being arrested or killed doing their illegal activities than any other class of criminal. (Pine Note: This is true. It's because we're also the smartest.)Many traffickers attempt to lay their fears to rest by hiring persons to conduct counter-surveillance for them during critical, and some noncritical stages of an ongoing drug deal. Many of these same counter-surveillance types also double as body guards or provide security for the trafficker and his drugs. They are often paid in drugs instead of cash. Many are armed, all seem to have criminal backgrounds, and some are violent. Drug agents must always be cognizant of the presence of counter-surveillance at any drug deal in which they are participating. Counter-surveillance accomplices may use hand or other visual signals such as adjusting a cap or taking off a jacket to warn others of the presence of the police. Some counter-surveillance accomplices will be on foot, others in cars and on bicycles where they can cover a larger area and be more mobile. These counter-surveillance associates of the trafficker are there to inform him what they see during the meeting, and if they detect the presence of surveillance agents.Some traffickers themselves will sit a short distance away from the location and watch the parking lots before parking to do either a drug transaction or have a meeting with a buyer. They may telephone the undercover agent or CI after seeing them arrive at the meeting location, and lie about being several minutes away due to heavy traffic, just to see their reaction. The trafficker is looking for any contact with probable surveillance agents, no matter how slight, or anything else that will confirm he is dealing with the police. In smuggling investigations, it is increasingly common to see counter-surveillance accomplices acting suspicious at airports, train stations, and other transportation nodes hoping to attract the attention of any covert drug agents to draw attention away from the actual courier of drugs.With cellular telephones being as prevalent as they are, traffickers will counter the efforts of electronic wiretap surveillance by changing telephone numbers frequently, or by having several telephones activated at the same time so he can rotate their use. Others use prepaid telephones and dispose of them when their time credits expire.Counter-Surveillance DrivingMany drug dealers will take a surreptitious route of travel from point A to point B. While driving, these paranoid drug dealers assume they are either always being followed, or could be followed by drug agents at any given moment. Some of their driving techniques are dangerous, others just annoying.Drug traffickers may drive normally during a ten-mile trip, but once they come within a mile of their destination, the counter-surveillance activity commences. Surveillance agents will often observe traffickers pull into dead end streets and park to see who follows them. They will make sudden, often dangerous U-turns to see if vehicles will follow them, and drive through parking lots and corner gas stations as shortcuts.Some traffickers painfully follow the posted speed limit to prevent being stopped by a uniformed police officer, while others use excessive speed to evade any surveillance there may be. Traffickers who enter an apartment complex will often park on the opposite side of where they live to disguise which apartment they intend to enter. Counter-Surveillance EquipmentMany stores in the United States and elsewhere specialize in selling equipment capable of detecting the presence of transmitters and wiretaps. They sell products that are purported to detect the presence of any wireless transmitter that may be on the person of someone, or can detect the presence of a listening device or bug. Many of these devices are worthless, however a growing number of them actually work well, and provide significant problems for undercover agents, informants, and surveillance agents.A growing number of drug organizations, including money launderers, are using sophisticated electronic devices, including video equipment, mounted in the rear window of a vehicle to record any surveillance vehicles that may be following them in the hopes of observing the driver use a radio or do other things indicative of being a police official.Pin-hole cameras are known to be mounted in flower pots, bird houses, molding, smoke detectors, and other common items to warn them that the police are present. Others may use motion detectors that activate flood lights near their homes or laboratory sites.Suspects have also been known to use modified audible car alarms that a person conducting counter-surveillance will activate to warn persons inside a residence of the presence of the police. Pushing the button on such a device while the counter-surveillance operative has his hand in his pocket can be almost impossible to detect.Drug dealers have also been known to purchase transceivers that not only can be programmed to monitor the frequencies of body transmitters worn by police, but can also transmit on actual police department frequencies. Suspects have been known to use police radio codes to learn the registered owners of vehicles used by police officers. This includes privately owned vehicles undercover agents use to drive to and from work everyday.It is important when debriefing informants for the case agent to ask if the targeted drug dealer has a history of using any of these devices. If the trafficker has used these devices in the past, the undercover agent should not wear any body transmitter or recorder at the initial meeting with him. The agent may even ask to search the trafficker for any body wires he may have, just to throw him off-guard and to convince him he is not dealing with the police.If an undercover agent knows ahead of time that the suspect will be carrying a detection device, he or she should not wear any electronic recording equipment to the initial meeting. However, if subsequent meetings take place and a recording is made, the undercover agent should make mention of the previous meeting and what was discussed to make up for the previous shortcoming. This is done in an attempt to get the suspect to acknowledge that the initial meeting took place, and that certain things were discussed and agreed upon. This will go a long way in the eyes of prosecutors and jurors in making up for the fact the original meeting was not recorded.SummarySurveillance is used extensively by drug law enforcement to obtain intelligence information about the suspect they are following. Surveillance can be conducted either from a stationary position, while mobile, or through electronic means.Drug agents assigned to a surveillance must be resourceful, alert, natural acting, and have an appearance that will not attract undue attention. They must be well equipped for any situation that may arise. Surveillance operations can reveal many aspects about the suspects life and associates he interacts with that could not otherwise be determined. Surveillance operations often lead to the identities of co-conspirators and stash houses. Many drug traffickers are on guard to detect surveillances placed upon them and will conduct countermeasures. Findings from surveillance are often used as the basis for arrest and search warrants.Drug agents must be cognizant of counter-surveillance measures being adopted by traffickers in their jurisdictions. They have been known to use sophisticated audio and video equipment as well as scanners and transceivers to learn the identity of undercover agents. These devices are used to detect the presence of police and thwart their efforts to investigate them.Drug dealers have also been known to employ counter-surveillance accomplices to look for the presence of strangers who may be police officers or drug agents in the neighborhood. They use hand and other signals to alert their employers of the presence of drug agents.