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Discussion => Security => Topic started by: pine on August 13, 2012, 06:23 am
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For any curious SR users:
It is traditional on SRF to place the [intel] tag in front of the subject line when submitting sources of documentation/news to the forum. Sources should be high quality and ideally primary sources. Since there is a diverse set of possible topic areas, if you want to get a sense of what is appropriate intelligence then search the forum using the [intel] tag.
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Source:
Title: Global Drug Enforcement - Practical Investigative Techniques
Author: Lee, Gregory D
Publisher : CRC Press
ISBN10 | ASIN : 0203488989
ISBN13 : 9780203613078
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Sources of Information
Sources of information include both people and institutions. Drug agents need a steady flow of information in order to be effective in their jobs. Information is the lifeblood of any investigation, and drug cases rely more on information than any other form of criminal investigation.
Everyone a drug agent comes into contact with is a potential source of information. Those people and institutions most frequently encountered include:
• Airline ticket agents
• Travel agents
• Baggage handlers
• Car rental employees
• Hotel clerks
• Utility companies
• Telephone service providers
• Real estate agents
• Internet service providers
• Bank employees
• Taxi drivers
• County Assessor’s Office
• Credit bureaus
• Private express shipping companies
• Yacht club employees
• Boat sales personnel
• Flight service station employees
• Private airplane sales personnel
These potential sources of information can provide drug agents with documentation of the suspect’s travel, banking, and telephone habits. This information frequently produces leads to other members of the conspiracy, and may help locate hidden assets and drug proceeds.
Most people employed in these occupations provide information to drug agents either because they are compelled to by court order, or they have altruistic motives. Offering to pay these sources of information may result in some being offended, while others are eager to earn extra money while helping law enforcement.
Airline Ticket Agents
Many basic drug investigations have the potential of being expanded into a complex smuggling case. Smuggling cases have the goal of identifying not only the smugglers involved with introducing the drug into the United States, but also with identifying those who move the drugs from one part of the country to the other.
Drugs are commonly moved from one place to another via commercial airline. Both passengers and employees of airlines in all categories have been arrested for actually smuggling controlled substances, or for facilitating the transfer of these illegal drugs. Airline ticket agents, as well as other categories of employees, can help tremendously in cases of this type. Airline ticket agents, when trained by drug agents on the profile of a commercial air smuggler, can provide specific information about passengers, how their tickets were paid, as well as when and where they were purchased. Sometimes a simple computer check accessing this type of information can provide drug agents assigned to airport interdiction operations with information that frequently leads to arrests and seizures. See Chapter 15 for specific information.
Travel Agents
Unlike airline ticket agents who usually only have access to specific information pertaining to their own airline, travel agents can access information from not only airline computers, but those maintained by rail, bus, and cruise ships, plus hotels throughout the world.
These agents can provide drug law enforcement officers with vital information in the tracking of individuals involved in drug trafficking. Leads generated from travel agencies can provide drug agents with the opportunity to glean telephone toll information from calls made at hotels stayed at by the trafficker, as well as the method of payment for the room. The credit card information from payment of the hotel stay can lead to the development of other information in connection with the credit card application.
Car Rental Employees
Employees of car rental agencies can provide drug agents with information pertaining to when and where a suspect rented a vehicle, how he paid for it, and the expected date of return of the car. They can also provide agents with information pertaining to prior history of car rentals by a particular suspect. With a court order, rental companies will allow drug agents access to the vehicle the suspect will be renting in order to install tracking or other devices inside.
Hotel Registration Clerks
These valuable sources of information can provide drug agents with not only the occupant of a certain room, but can search reservation computers for recent and future stays. Nationwide hotel chains and especially international hotel chains can provide information about the airline and flight on which the suspect will be arriving, and its origin. Also, the hotel can provide the international telephone numbers that were called from the room, and what hotel services, including Internet and other business center services, that may have been provided. Having this type of information may lead to the development of valuable leads in identifying sources of supply and co-conspirators.
Utility Companies
Drug agents can quickly ascertain the names of persons paying for water, electric, and gas service at a particular address by contacting the appropriate utility company. Based on the huge volume of requests that are generated from law enforcement agencies in major metropolitan areas, these companies sometimes devote employees specifically for this purpose and sometimes require a subpoena before releasing this information.
Surveillance agents should contact more than one of the utility companies providing service to a specific address in order to compare names of subscribers. Some utilities, such as electric companies, may have initiated service in a man’s name, and the water and gas may be subscribed either in the name of the man’s wife or in an entirely different name. The names and the credit applications submitted to the utility companies to initiate service can lead to the identity of other members of the drug conspiracy. Furthermore, by furnishing a suspect’s name to a utility or local telephone company, the drug agents can determine if the suspect is a customer, and at what address services are being provided.
Drug agents in major metropolitan areas may find many different municipal and regional electric power companies within their jurisdiction. Often, agents will have to contact each company directly to ascertain the information they seek.
Telephone Service Providers
One of the most important tools in a drug agent’s box is access to information pertaining to telephone calls made by suspects. Suspects rely on residential, business, pager, and cellular telephone service to communicate with other members of their criminal conspiracy and take steps to disguise their use of the telephone when possible.
Many suspects activate one or more cellular telephones only to discontinue the service or discard the actual telephone within a few days or weeks fearing law enforcement has obtained their number and may be listening in on their conversations. The reality of the situation is that there are many more telephones being used to facilitate drug transactions then there are drug agents to monitor them. Despite this, most drug traffickers do not take the chance, and will frequently cancel service, change subscriber names, or abandon cellular telephones altogether.
Under subpoena, telephone companies are required to provide drug law enforcement with the subscriber information and any particular detailed information called for in the subpoena. Typically, drug agents will ask for a record of all toll, or long-distance telephone calls made from a particular number for the past 6 months. After receiving this information, drug agents and intelligence analysts can see the relationship between the suspect and others that he calls. An analysis of telephone calls made by a particular subject can frequently identify members of the same conspiracy, and locate hiding places, stash houses, and the like. Telephone companies can also provide subscriber information on an emergency basis to law enforcement. For specific information pertaining to telephone analysis, see Chapter 17.
Real Estate Agents
Real estate agents can perform a variety of services for drug agents during the course of an investigation. They have the ability to conduct property was financed, and with what lender. They can identify the real estate office responsible for the sale, as well as the escrow company that completed the transaction.
This type of information may be helpful in determining the assets of a particular drug trafficker when attempting to seize his property as drug proceeds. They may also be able to identify the architect who built the home or building, which may be of help if serving a high-risk search warrant. Architectural drawings may reveal unique or hidden compartments within the home.
Internet Service Providers
Drug agents are encountering an increasing number of traffickers that rely on their own web sites, email, and the Internet to sell drugs, chemicals, and laboratory supplies. Internet service providers can provide law enforcement with the names and billing addresses of all subscribers to their services. They can also provide technical assistance in helping to track email, as well as email addresses used by subscribers.
Banking Institutions
Banks are compelled to provide information to a drug agent who is armed with a grand jury subpoena. Requests can range from verifying whether a trafficker maintains an account at the bank, to the balance he maintains, and copies of applications for loans he may have made. They can also provide names of safety deposit box holders, as well as when they last had access to the boxes.
Security at banks require constant videotaping of customer transactions, and still photos can be obtained from the tapes. Making a deposit or withdrawal of drug proceeds may be an overt act in proving a conspiracy case, and these tapes may provide invaluable evidence.
Taxi Drivers
Long a source of information for police officers, taxi drivers can provide suspect descriptions, where they were picked up and taken to, and possibly call back telephone numbers maintained by their dispatchers. Taxi drivers are a natural part of the landscape in any neighborhood they frequent. Drug agents may solicit trusted sources to drive by certain locations during different times of the day to look for a particular vehicle. A taxi company or independent driver may also allow drug agents the use of their vehicle for particular surveillance assignments.
County Assessor’s Office
This governmental office can provide drug agents with the names of the owners of properties within the county, and advise when and if a certain property is in the process of changing ownership.
Credit Bureaus
There are several large credit bureau organizations operating within the United States. Each maintains an extensive record of anyone who has ever established credit, as well as the payment history of an individual. The security management of credit organizations have assisted drug agents in the past in creating a credit history under an undercover name that will be used by an agent. Creating such a history, which will show employment, using totally fictitious information helps tremendously in gaining the confidence of traffickers while working undercover.
Express Shipping Companies
Many drug traffickers have used express shipping companies such as Federal Express and United Parcel Service to transport drugs to customers. These companies, as well as others, have proven to be extremely cooperative in drug investigations. In addition to providing tracking information on packages, they may assist by lending uniforms, vehicles, and other items for use during special surveillance operations and controlled deliveries.
Yacht Club Employees
Employees of yacht clubs may have inside information pertaining to the travels of particular boats and yachts, and who was aboard the vessels at the time they arrived at the club. They can also serve as lookouts for specific vessels drug law enforcement may be interested in.
Many employees hear rumors or are themselves asked to participate in certain aspects of maritime drug smuggling. They can provide leads into how services were paid for, who accompanied the trafficker during his visit at the club, how long his vessel was docked, etc. They can alert drug agents to furtive activity and suspicious persons that may be visiting with members of the yacht club or are waiting for them to arrive from a sailing voyage.
Boat and Yacht Sales Personnel
These professional sales people will be able to provide information to drug law enforcement agents about the sales of popular vessels used in the smuggling of drugs. With a court order, they can provide law enforcement with access to vessels for the placement of tracking devices. They will also have access to financing information, bank loans, insurance carriers, and other companies and individuals involved in maritime businesses. Many drug smuggling cases are initiated based on information provided by yacht salesmen and women.
Flight Service Station Employees
These employees work in offices at airports that provide private and commercial pilots with a place to rest, file flight plans, buy fuel, food, maps, rent aircraft, and other necessities for air travel. Like yacht clubs, but to a smaller degree, these employees can ascertain when a certain plane arrived or took off, who was flying the plane, and its destination. These employees can also look out for particular airplanes drug law enforcement knows are involved in air smuggling.
Private Airplane Sales Personnel
Much like their yacht sales counterpart, private airplane sales personnel can provide listings of all sales of aircraft or who was interested in purchasing planes or modifying existing ones that may accommodate smugglers. These people could prove to be a wealth of information pertaining to air smuggles occurring in any particular area of the country.
Conclusion
This list of sources of information is not all-inclusive, and not all the sources will be able to provide criminal information on a continuing basis. Drug agents should, however, make contacts at these establishments to cultivate informants who can provide specific, timely information about the activities of drug traffickers.
Summary
Drug agents, like any criminal investigator, need to cultivate and develop sources of information from a variety of places. This can be accomplished by seeking out people in certain professions that may be privy to the goings-on of drug traffickers and smugglers.
Many of these sources can provide a wealth of information about particular sales transactions, what was purchased, how it was paid for, and the like. This information may prove vital in identifying co-conspirators and lead to the location of drugs and drug proceeds.
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Surveillance and Counter-Surveillance
Throughout the career of any drug agent, he or she will spend a substantial amount of time conducting surveillance. This is due to the fact that drug crimes are investigated as they happen as opposed to after-the-fact crimes such as burglary or robbery where the suspects are normally not known. Traditional police investigations do involve surveillance activities, however not nearly as often as drug cases because of the nature of the crime. Drug agents working as a surveillance team will develop into a highly effective force to gather intelligence information about suspects and identify co-conspirators in the drug trafficking organization.
Definition and Purpose of Surveillance
Surveillance is the secretive and continuous or periodic watching of persons, vehicles, places, and objects to obtain information concerning the activities and identities of the individuals.
Surveillance is often the only investigative technique drug agents can use to identify stash pads where drugs are stored, couriers, and sources of supply. It also frequently identifies buyers and distributors as well as codefendants and co-conspirators.
There is no substitute for traditional, hands on surveillance. Following the primary suspect to learn his activities on any given day may lead drug agents to where he lives, who he associates with, what vehicles he had access to, where he socializes, and where he works. This information may be invaluable later when trying to locate him in order to make his arrest or to prevent him from committing another crime.
Frequently CIs (confidential informants) will tell their drug agent handlers that they have met a drug dealer willing to sell a particular drug to them with one caveat; he does not know the identity of the dealer. The drug agents should direct the informant to arrange a meeting in a public place with the man in order to allow the agents to place surveillance on him. From there, the agents potentially can identify what vehicle he is driving, where he lives, what his full description is, and possibly where he stores his drugs.
Types of Surveillance
There are three basic types of surveillance used in modern drug enforcement: mobile, stationary, and electronic.
Mobile
Conducted either on foot or using a vehicle, drug agents have an opportunity to follow the suspect to determine who he meets, where he goes, and what he does.
Stationary
Stationary surveillance is conducted from a fixed point; often from within a building or parked vehicle.
Electronic
Twenty-first century drug investigations often involve the use of technical listening equipment and cameras to keep suspects under constant surveillance or to alert them when they have arrived at a particular location. Law enforcement technicians are creative in ways of concealing cameras that are used by agents to maintain surveillance on suspects. A common piece of equipment used is a hollow transformer container, which can be found on telephone and power poles, that has a video camera inside that transmits microwave signals to a receiver at the drug agents’ office. There the signal is recorded on videotape where it can be reviewed for activity overnight or at other times. The pole-cam, as it is called, is usually installed by drug agents posing as employees of the telephone or electric company servicing the area, and is nearly impossible to detect by the suspects. They have been used successfully for many years.
Other forms of electronic surveillance equipment may include hidden cameras in furnishings commonly found in any hotel room in the United States, including thermostats, alarm clocks, table lamps, and televisions. Cameras have also been installed in the brake lights of unoccupied automo-biles for recording suspects and the coming and goings of other vehicles that drive up to a particular address. Use of such devices should be discussed with local prosecutors to insure they do not violate any particular state statue forbidding the use of such devices, even by law enforcement.
Objectives of Surveillance
There are many good reasons to conduct surveillances of suspected drug traffickers. As previously stated, drug trafficking involves many persons working in concert to achieve their goal. The drug agent’s objective is to identify as many persons as possible who are involved in the conspiracy and surveillance will go a long way in achieving this goal.
Identify the Main Target of the Investigation
Conducting surveillance often leads to the full identify of the suspects involved in the drug trafficking organization. Sometimes, simply observing the license plate of the vehicle he drives and later determining the registered owner through records maintained by the state department of motor vehicles can lead to the true identity of the suspect. However, sometimes it becomes more challenging, particularly if the suspect has made efforts to thwart drug law enforcement. More on this will be discussed in the counter-surveillance portion of this chapter.
Even if the vehicle the suspect is driving is not his own, the leads developed from obtaining the registered owner information may later determine that the owner of the vehicle is also involved in the drug crime. If the registered owner is not involved directly, he or she can later be interviewed, which may lead to other persons who are involved.
If, for example, the unidentified suspect, when first observed, is driving a rental vehicle, his name, a driver’s license number and address can be ascertained from the car rental company. The company can also tell agents when the vehicle is due back, and possibly if the suspect arrived from out of town on a particular flight. The point is that surveillance creates investigative leads for drug agents that would not normally be available by any other means.
Identify Other Members of the Drug Organization
Conducting surveillance of the suspect will often lead to the identification of other members of the criminal conspiracy. Many drug dealers work at his or her trade on a full-time basis, and the likelihood is good that every person they contact could be involved as well. All persons the main target of the investigation meets with should be fully identified. Drug agents can make record checks of these individuals to determine if they have a criminal back-ground. If they do, especially if they have a history of drug trafficking, this means the surveillance agents should continue their surveillance on these persons. Once surveillance agents begin to see that the suspects are only associating with each other, and no one new, it is probable that all members of their organization have been identified.
Locate Stash Locations
Drug agents strive to seize large amounts of drugs during the course of their investigations. In many urban, suburban, and rural areas, huge quantities of drugs may be stored in innocent looking dwellings or commercial storage facilities. Suspects will travel to these locations to check on co-conspirators who are providing security for the drugs, determine the amount of the supply on hand, or remove a quantity for sale later. They will also be on the alert for anything out of the ordinary to alert them that drug agents are investigating their activities.
During the undercover phase of an investigation, the undercover agent or informant may order a quantity of drugs they believe the suspect cannot produce at the moment, forcing him to travel to where the drugs are stored. Sometimes to increase the likelihood of forcing the suspect to travel to get the drugs, the undercover agent will not order a specific amount of drugs until he or she meets personally with the suspect. Another technique is to pay for the drugs the suspect delivers, and then immediately order a similar quantity forcing him to return to the original location or go somewhere else to retrieve the drugs. Doing this gives the surveillance agents another opportunity to locate the stash pad if they happen to lose the suspect during their first attempt (Figure 6.1).
Obtain Probable Cause for a Search Warrant
Surveillance agents may be able to articulate in an affidavit certain facts they observed that may lead a judge to issue a search warrant. For example, during a drug investigation surveillance agents observe the suspect meeting with an undercover agent at a restaurant to discuss a drug transaction. At the conclusion of the meeting, the surveillance agents follow the suspect to a house where he is observed entering the dwelling empty-handed. A few minutes later, surveillance agents observe the suspect leave the house carrying a shopping bag, which he places in the trunk of his vehicle. Surveillance agents then follow the suspect back to the original meeting location, where he delivers the bag that contained drugs to the undercover agent.
Thanks to the surveillance agents, they now know where the suspect probably stores his drugs. Without their observations, they would have no chance of obtaining a search warrant for the house to look for more drugs. If a search warrant is issued and agents find more drugs along with other suspects in the house, these additional people may be arrested as co-conspirators, or they may wish to cooperate with drug agents in providing information about the original suspect. In either event, surveillance agents would have made a difference in expanding the investigation to its fullest potential.
Locate Wanted Persons
Often surveillance agents will identify people the main target of the investigation meets with and determine that they are wanted by police authorities in other jurisdictions. This information should be passed on to these authorities so that they may coordinate the arrest in such a way as to not jeopardize the ongoing drug investigation.
Verify the Reliability of an Informant
Surveillance can add to the reliability of newly established CIs. Surveillance agents can corroborate certain information provided by the informant by verifying certain things during the course of a surveillance operation. If the informant says the suspect drives a certain type of vehicle, surveillance can verify this information if the suspect is seen driving the vehicle. Surveillance agents could also corroborate informant information pertaining to the description and location where the suspect lives, and the names and descriptions of people the suspect associates with. Documenting this corroboration of the informant’s information will add to the informant’s history of reliability. As the number of occasions where the informant’s information is corroborated increases, it may later sway a judge to issue a search warrant based in part on the past proven reliability of the informant.
Obtain Detailed Information
Search warrants require not only probable cause to be issued, but the warrant must include a detailed description of the location to be searched. Surveillance agents can drive by or position themselves to see the location long enough to obtain a detailed, accurate description of the premises to be searched.
Prevent the Commission of a Crime or Arrest a Suspect in the Act
Drug traffickers are often engaged in other criminal activity. If it should come to the attention of drug agents that the suspect intends to commit a nondrug crime such as burglary or robbery, surveillance agents can follow the suspect and make an arrest of the suspect in the act, or prevent the crime entirely.
Many police departments around the country will set up surveillance teams on recently paroled violent offenders on the assumption they will commit another violent crime. These surveillance teams often catch parolees in the act of committing a robbery or similar crime.
Obtain Information for Later Use during an Interrogation
During the course of surveillance, agents will record the activities of those they follow. Later during an interrogation, if a suspect denies knowing someone or being at a particular location, surveillance notes, photographs, and videotapes may convince the suspect that it is fruitless to lie because they were seen with certain people doing certain things during a surveillance.
Develop Clues and Information from Other Sources
When surveillance agents follow a suspect to locations such as a bank, stockbroker, or post office, agents can conduct a follow-up investigation to determine what relationship the suspect has with these businesses. By following the suspect to these and other locations, agents are afforded the opportunity to develop clues and information about the suspect that would not have normally been possible without surveillance. Agents may determine the suspect has a bank account at a particular bank, has an account with a stockbroker, or uses a post office box to receive personal mail. This type of information may not have been available to the informant who initiated the case and is frequently learned only through the use of surveillance.
Qualities of a Surveillance Agent
Drug agents conducting surveillance must be able to fit into a crowd and avoid being noticed by their target. Besides having a normal appearance and acting naturally in their surroundings, they must be able to remain alert during long, sometimes arduous hours of work, and be resourceful when necessary. Patience and stamina are qualities they must exhibit during most of their time spent on a surveillance team.
Normal Appearance
Surveillance agents must adapt to their surroundings. If they know in advance that they will be covering a meeting between a CI and the target of the investigation at an opulent hotel, the majority of them should dress accordingly. Since people from all walks of life and socio-economic backgrounds frequent hotels, even opulent ones, the manner of dress and appearance must match what they expect to find there.
Some drug agents choose to have long hair, a beard, and wear blue jeans, t-shirts, and running shoes. Agents appearing this way can still effectively conduct surveillance at upscale locations, but in limited capacities, such as street people, laborers, and the like. Common sense dictates that surveillance agents should approximate the same appearance as the suspect they are following. If the weather is warm, surveillance agents should not be the only ones on the street wearing a jacket (to conceal their weapons). Adjustments need to be made to rid themselves of the telltale signs of being the police. Ankle holsters, butt packs, notebooks, portable radios, car radio microphones, emergency lights, binoculars, cameras, handcuffs, etc. should be concealed from view and even covered up inside the agent’s vehicle. The suspect’s movements may change suddenly and the agent could find him or herself parked near the suspect as he walks by, giving him the opportunity to see surveillance equipment inside the vehicle.
Act as Naturally as Possible
Inexperienced surveillance agents sometimes act as if they are wearing their badge on their shirts or have POLICE tattooed on their forehead. This is a natural response that comes from unrealistic fear that they have been spotted by the suspect, and that he knows that surveillance agents are following him. Many of these fears are later determined to be unfounded. The subject of the surveillance has no way of verifying that he is being followed by the police, and in most cases will be reluctant to confront surveillance agents.
Many suspects firmly believe they are the subjects of around-the-clock surveillance by government entities. They cannot be convinced that the government has not tapped their telephones, fax machines, homes, and businesses. These suspects are extremely fearful of going to prison for their criminal activity, and sometimes have a boost to their egos knowing that the government is devoting so much time in apprehending them. Because of the paranoia of constantly being followed, many suspects will take surreptitious routes to frequently visited places and will attempt to lose any surveillance agents that may be following them before they park at their intended destination. When such a suspect encounters a surveillance agent who is acting normally for the surroundings, he can never be sure he is being followed. More on this will be discussed later in this chapter.
In order to blend in with other people in public, surveillance agents should attempt to appear as normal as possible within their surroundings. They should not wear flashy jewelry or colorful clothing, and they should be careful not to expose any firearms or other equipment they may have on their person. Their clothing should fit prevailing weather conditions. Having several different colored caps and sunglasses to change their appearance helps them remain invisible to the suspect they are following.
Alert
Often surveillance assignments can last the entire day and into the night. Agents need to prepare for such an event and have adequate amounts of water, coffee, food, and clothing to endure the day. The lack of these essential items will necessitate the agent being taken away from the rest of the surveillance team until they can be obtained.
Agents need to be alert to any sudden actions by the suspect that may change the course of the investigation. They need to be aware of telephone calls he makes at public telephone booths, businesses he visits, and people he meets with.
Surveillance agents need to obtain the telephone number of any public telephone booths the suspect makes outgoing telephone calls from. The telephone company can later determine if a toll call was made at that exact time, and what telephone number was called. This information can possibly lead to the identity of other conspirators, or provide a useful investigative lead.
When the suspect meets with an individual never encountered before, the surveillance team leader needs to make a decision about following the new person. He or she must decide if following this new person will risk draining available resources to identify him. A good rule of thumb is to make an effort to identify the new person since the opportunity may not present itself again.
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Resourceful
Expert surveillance agents have been known to use their surroundings as natural camouflage. Using a fold up windshield sunscreen with slits cut in it to see out of while observing a suspect in a parking lot is just one example of resourcefulness exhibited by surveillance agents. Putting the hood up on a vehicle to make it appear to be disabled while positioned at a particularly good vantage point is another example of resourcefulness.
Observant
Surveillance agents must be good observers. Experienced drug agents and police officers can see things that citizens without police experience cannot. Some police officers seem to have a sixth sense that aids them in anticipating what might happen next after observing the body language and demeanor of a suspect they are following. Drug agents can also often tell when a drug deal is about to take place, or when one has just occurred. Since many drug dealers assume they are constantly under surveillance, drug agents must be especially observant to see with whom they come in contact and what packages are exchanged.
Patience and Stamina
Any surveillance potentially could conclude much later than the drug agents originally intended. The time spent on a surveillance depends on how successful the agents are in following the suspect, and exactly what the suspect is doing while being followed.
No two surveillance operations are alike, and because of their unpredictability, drug agents should be prepared for lengthy assignments that will require stamina. When a team of agents follow a suspect into a restaurant, most of that team will be outside in their vehicles waiting for the suspect to exit and will not have the ability to refresh themselves with food or drink. When it appears the suspect will be at a particular place for a predictable length of time, e.g., after he has ordered a meal, surveillance agents should take advantage of this time to make food runs.
Categories of Surveillance
There are five categories of surveillance: intelligence gathering, prebuy and postbuy surveillance, reconnaissance, and physical survey. Each has an important role in leading to a successful drug operation and in keeping undercover agents safe.
Intelligence Gathering
The whole purpose of surveillance is to gather intelligence about the suspect. The goal is for the drug agents to learn whom the suspect meets, where he lives, whom he visits, and where he socializes, etc. Conducting surveillance may discover previously unknown details concerning drug crimes, locate fugitives, or enhance the credibility of any informant involved.
Prebuy Surveillance
Before any undercover agent or informant is sent to a location to purchase drugs during the course of the investigation, surveillance agents must be on hand ahead of time. The conducting of prebuy surveillance may aid in the identification of co-conspirators and may reveal the presence of counter-surveillance. For the protection of the undercover agent or informant, surveillance agents must be on hand before, during, and after the purchase of drugs in order to insure their safety.
Prebuy surveillance agents may be able to see accomplices that are armed, or identify who may be in possession of the drugs the traffickers intend to sell. Not conducting prebuy surveillance is abandoning an effective investigative tool and may result in safety problems for undercover personnel.
Postbuy Surveillance
Even after the drugs have been purchased by the undercover agent or informant, and he or she has left the location, surveillance agents should remain on scene for a short while in order to see if the suspects return for any reason, and if so, who they meet with.
Simultaneously, other agents must keep surveillance on the undercover agent, who should not drive directly back to his or her office, to determine if suspects may be following. If suspects are following, their intention may be to rob the agent of the drugs, or possibly kidnap him or her to later extort more money from his “partners.” Any notion that the undercover agents are being followed should immediately be communicated to the agents so they can initiate counter-surveillance driving techniques to avoid being seen returning to their office.
Reconnaissance
Surveillance agents can recon the scheduled meeting spot with an undercover agent, and determine if there are suitable places to conduct stationary surveillance undetected. The case agent or surveillance team leader can assign surveillance agents to these locations in order to get a full field view of the activities that will take place there. Other surveillance agents familiar with the suspects, their cars, and where they live and work should show other agents who will be participating in the surveillance or stakeout.
Physical Survey
Surveillance agents conduct preplanning activities to familiarize themselves with the topography of the area, and basic information regarding the neighborhood and its residents. Local police officers in the city where the surveillance is going to be conducted are an excellent source of information to determine what type of neighborhood the suspect lives in, and what the likelihood of encountering counter-surveillance by sympathetic neighbors is. They can also advise where the best local hospitals are in the event that they are needed. Physical surveys also determine typical traffic conditions in certain areas that may affect the ability of surveillance agents to maneuver while at the same time allowing agents to familiarize themselves with local streets and alleys.
Other Considerations
Every surveillance agent should carry an adequate amount of cash to handle any emergency that may arise during a planned or unscheduled surveillance. Agents do not have time to go to an automatic teller machine or stop inside a bank to write a check while the surveillance is being conducted. Agents will need funds to quickly pay for meals if they are assigned to follow the suspect inside a restaurant, or to possibly purchase something if they go into a store. Using a credit card may take too long to allow the surveillance agent to rejoin his or her surveillance team members in a timely fashion.
Agents should always have in their vehicles a packed bag containing personal hygiene items and a change of clothing in case an overnight stay is necessary. The bag also doubles as a prop if they have to follow a suspect into an airport, train station, or hotel.
Surveillance team members also need to have all their communication equipment with them including:
• Cellular telephones programmed with the telephone numbers of other agents and their supervisor in the event assistance is needed
• Cellular telephone car battery cord
• Charged portable radios with extra batteries
• Pager
• Binoculars or monocular
• Bottled water
• Fruit or snacks
• Flashlight
• Map of the area
• Pen and notepad or small tape recorder or digital recording machine to dictate time, date, places, and events observed
• Several different styles of hats
• Sunglasses
• Jacket or coat appropriate for the weather
• Umbrella
• Shoulder bag for equipment storage or use as a prop
Agents should remember that it does not take the entire team to see when a suspect comes out of a building or returns to his car. One agent is usually sufficient to see the suspect exit a building, assuming he or she has an unobstructed view. During this time, other agents should be set up to follow the suspect away in any direction he may travel.
Rules of Surveillance
There can be only one team leader during a surveillance operation. Each surveillance agent must have a specific assignment given by the team leader. When following a suspect in his vehicle into a store parking lot that is part of a strip mall, the surveillance team leader must immediately insure that members of the team are covering each driveway in anticipation of the suspect exiting there. The team leader can assign an agent to go into the business the suspect is visiting to determine who he is making contact with.
Furthermore, agents need to be positioned on the street in all possible directions of travel the suspect may go. Once the suspect returns to his car and is committed to driving away in one particular direction, the other agents will quickly catch up to continue the surveillance.
Surveillance agents should work out a form of communicating with each other while on foot and in sight of each other. Cellular telephones work well for this purpose, as do alphanumeric pagers that receive lines of text. Agents can call their office from the scene of foot surveillance and have someone transmit a page to these types of pagers telling other agents precisely where the suspect is. Using this system is preferred to using hard-to-conceal radios with limited range. Supervisors and surveillance team leaders need to make arrangements for a shift relief in the event the surveillance should need to go on for longer than expected.
Fundamentals of Surveillance
• Agents should avoid eye-to-eye contact with the suspect. Most suspects will immediately be convinced they are being followed if someone makes eye contact with them. Surveillance agents should not fear being discovered by the suspect, even if eye contact is made, since the suspect can never be positive drug agents are watching them.
• Agents should have a rehearsed reason for being where they are. In the event the suspect should confront a surveillance agent and ask him why he or she is following him, they can deny such activity and tell them the reason for their presence. The agent should not leave the area immediately in an attempt to act natural, but they should no longer participate in the surveillance that day.
• Surveillance agents can avoid attention and detection by acting as naturally as they can for their surroundings. If the suspect is followed into a restaurant and he is going to order a meal, the agent should also order something to justify his stay in the restaurant for as long as the suspect does.
• Agents should not rely on information provided by persons who provide a service to the suspect. Asking the suspect’s barber, doorman, bartender, gardener, waiter, or housekeeper a question about the suspect usually will prompt them to immediately report their contact with the police, usually in hopes of a reward.
• Surveillance agents need to be prepared to telephone the suspect at his home or business using a false pretense. Telephoning the suspect’s home or business asking for him is one way of verifying he is there. Suspects may answer these calls themselves and may be reluctant to say where they are. A convincing story may cause the suspect to relax his guard.
• Checking the suspect’s mailbox to see who he is getting mail from, and what businesses he has a relationship with, may generate investigative leads. Checking his garbage, or taking it once it is placed on the sidewalk area of his residence for collection can be a treasure trove of information. Often cutting agents, small baggies, drug paraphernalia with drug residue, empty boxes of baking soda for the production of crack cocaine, duct tape to reseal kilogram packages of cocaine, etc. can be found in a suspect’s garbage.
• When following the suspect in a vehicle, surveillance agents should not be afraid of being too close, especially in areas of heavy traffic. Large urban areas produce heavy traffic that calls for vehicles being close to one another at most times of the day and night.
• Agents should not be ashamed of losing the suspect. Often a single red traffic light will prevent the agent from following the suspect through an intersection. Agents who violate traffic laws with impunity while the suspect watches are telegraphing their presence, thereby jeopardizing the surveillance. Losing a suspect during a surveillance sometimes cannot be helped, regardless of the amount of preplanning that was done. If the agents are convinced the suspect is aware of their presence, they should not immediately return to their office, but rather drive in different directions to avoid being followed themselves by any mobile counter-surveillance accomplices.
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Using Air Support during Surveillance
Many 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 Reports
The 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-Surveillance
Drug 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 Driving
Many 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 Equipment
Many 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.
Summary
Surveillance 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 suspect’s 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.
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Where did you find all of these? I think we need to make a new sub forum with the info like this and the polyfront,art of smuggling etc.
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http://books.google.com/books?id=g0mHQmA_QS0C
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Where did you find all of these? I think we need to make a new sub forum with the info like this and the polyfront,art of smuggling etc.
Hint. Hint.
pine is copying chapters from a nine year old criminal justice textbook
Yes. Your powers of observation continue to astound. Take off the unicorn hat and put that brain to work finding us great intelligence material! :D