Tougher Times Loom at Border : Drug war: Smugglers using trucks have a high success rate now, and customs officials fear it will get higher.

It was 3:30 p.m., the busiest time of the day, and dozens of 18-wheeler rigs and other commercial trucks lined up for the afternoon blitz from Mexico through the Otay Mesa port of entry.

Moving commercial goods into the country as quickly and painlessly as possible is one of the chief aims of the U.S. Customs Service, and on this weekday, the agency appeared to be achieving that goal.

It took 47 seconds or less for most trucks to make the block-long run through the Customs Service commercial compound to U.S. soil. Only a handful were stopped and diverted to the compound’s 80 unloading docks so inspectors could check the cargo for drugs or other contraband.

The spectacle of dozens of trucks dashing through the customs compound on weekday afternoons has become part of the daily routine at the Otay port. Frustrated customs inspectors call it the “banzai run.” Some of the more cynical call it the smugglers’ run.

Throughout the international border, a rule of thumb is that law enforcement manages to siphon off only 10% of the narcotics being smuggled into the United States in northbound planes, trains, trucks and cars. Snagging drugs at the border is a Sisyphean task at best, say customs inspectors at the Otay port, and they worry that that aspect of their jobs will prove even more difficult in coming months.

As the zero-tolerance heyday of the 1980s war on drugs continues to fade into a more commerce-friendly era, wary inspectors see a one-two punch on the horizon: The expected confirmation of trade specialist George Weise as customs commissioner in Washington, and the developing North American Free Trade Agreement, both of which are likely to be a boon for importers, legitimate and illegitimate.

While staunching the flow of drugs into the United States is still very much a major thrust of the agency, gone are the days when customs inspectors caused lengthy backups as they searched every inch of incoming vehicles, and even armed California National Guardsmen patrolled the border to halt drug and immigrant traffic.

Today, only 13% of the roughly 800 trucks that pass through the Otay checkpoint on peak weekdays are inspected, customs sources say.

Bobbie Cassidy, a customs spokeswoman in San Diego, said officials are satisfied with the rate of inspections at Otay--and with the results. She noted that cocaine seizures in 1991 and 1992 in the San Diego district totaled more than 15,000 pounds each year, compared to only 203 pounds in 1990.

“We’ve developed criteria that allows us to target suspected shipments, trucks or companies. Because we can target those few suspects, we can facilitate low risk (commercial cargo) much more quickly without compromising our enforcement efforts,” Cassidy said.

In fiscal year 1992, customs inspectors in the San Diego district confiscated 15,535 pounds of cocaine. If 90% of the cocaine shipped through San Diego got through undetected, then 139,815 pounds--or 63 tons, up to $2 billion worth--of the powdery substance made its way north in 1992.

Customs workers say they are severely understaffed. With about 35 employees at the Otay port per shift, most inspections are cursory at best, they say, and thorough inspections are rare.

Some customs inspectors have volunteered to congressional investigators looking into allegations of mismanagement and corruption among customs officials that--charges of wrongdoing aside--there are too many flaws in their agency’s operation to allow them to do their jobs well.

Last summer, a House subcommittee launched an investigation of former customs San Diego district Director Allan J. Rappoport and other local officials. Several employees alleged that Rappoport aided drug smuggling by compromising the agency’s computerized intelligence files and ordering inspectors not to examine certain trucks that entered from Mexico.

Even without corruption, customs inspectors say, plenty of drugs slip by because some co-workers feel pressured by supervisors to speed up inspections in order to smooth the way for trade. They cite the vigorous lobbying efforts of the San Diego District Brokers Assn., which has complained to local customs officials that frequent inspections are unnecessary, time-consuming and expensive.

Concern over drug enforcement at the Otay port prompted one whistle-blower, customs inspector Michael Horner, to tell House subcommittee investigators last year that even after informants had provided tips about trucks carrying drugs in hidden compartments, “Rappoport ordered inspectors to facilitate entry to speed up commercial operations.”

Horner and others say drug cartels looking for weaknesses in the U.S. enforcement program use the sometimes chaotic conditions at the Otay port to their advantage. Inadequate staffing and the pro-commerce tilt create opportunities for smugglers to exploit a number of commonly used tactics that inspectors say include:

* Waiting until the “banzai run” to send trucks into the United States. The run occurs as overwhelmed customs inspectors are winding down their shifts. Smugglers figure that tired inspectors are more apt to wave shipments through than to search for hidden compartments in trucks carrying commercial goods.

* Foiling inspectors by sending two trucks through with the same license plate numbers--the first, a “clean” truck and the other drug-laden. After the first truck passes inspection, the drivers will surreptitiously swap paperwork.

* Thwarting inspections by placing “spotters” outside the customs compound with portable radios. When inspectors do occasional surprise inspections of trucks, the spotters radio their accomplices in Mexico with warnings to delay shipments.

* Abusing an honor system that was designed to allow reputable manufacturing firms to ship goods to the United States without interruption. Since the firms contract with independent Mexican trucking lines to get their shipments across, drug cartels find opportunities to bribe unscrupulous drivers to transport drugs with the goods.

Customs spokeswoman Cassidy said that even if the agency had 1,000 inspectors at the Otay commercial compound, it would be impossible to check each vehicle because of time constraints.

“There are so many degrees of inspection. What we consider an inspection varies extensively,” Cassidy said. “It could be a perusal of a truck, a canine running around a truck, tailgate inspection, partial unloading or full unloading.”

Or, as witnessed one recent afternoon, an inspection can consist of escorting a drug-sniffing dog around just the first of two dozen empty trucks lined up for inspection.

All trucks that cross the border empty are required to be inspected for concealed drugs or other contraband, but on this day, a single inspector was posted at a lot where 26 vehicles declared empty were parked for inspection.

Instead of inspecting all 26 trucks, the customs worker led the dog around only the first truck in line. The dog did not react. That done, the inspector gave all the trucks a wave. The drivers fired up the engines and proceeded out the gate.

Customs inspectors say they worry that the emphasis on inspections will further decline if Weise is confirmed as new customs commissioner.

Weise, a former attorney for IBM and the International Trade Commission, is staff director for the House Ways and Means subcommittee on trade. He is expected to fortify the agency’s emphasis on trade facilitation.

However, acting customs Commissioner Mike Lane, in Washington, said Weise “will do a superb job in narcotics enforcement.” He pointed out that Weise once worked as a customs inspector in Baltimore.

“I know Weise very well. The idea that he will push facilitation at the expense of enforcement has no basis in fact. I can assure you that,” Lane said.

Another factor expected to send commercial border traffic soaring--and inspectors scrambling--is the free trade agreement under negotiation. The pact, which will encourage more trade with Mexico, is opposed by most inspectors. One veteran supervisory inspector in San Diego wryly calls it “the North American Drug Trade Agreement.”

“It’s not designed to do this, but it’s going to help narcotics traffickers immensely. If you think truck inspections are few and far between now, they’ll disappear entirely when NAFTA is ratified,” said the inspector, who asked to remain anonymous.

Officials at the U.S. Trade Representative’s office, the principal federal agency pushing for ratification of the pact, were unavailable for comment on the inspectors’ concerns.

However, Lane said his view is that NAFTA may strengthen customs’ enforcement program because the pact will eliminate tariffs on goods coming from Mexico and will free inspectors from paperwork.

“Eliminating that paperwork will give our inspectors more time to look for drugs and contraband,” Lane said.

Tricks of a Terrible Trade

Smugglers bringing cocaine into California from Mexico have a bag of tricks that are known to U.S. Customs inspectors and DEA officials. Among them:

* SPOTTERS: Smuggling groups station so-called spotters outside the Customs compound. The spotters, like the one authorities have identified at far left, warn haulers on the Mexican side of surprise inspections.

* ROOF CUTOUTS: Hidden compartments are often cut into the roofs of trucks to hide drugs in an area that is out of reach to drug-sniffing dogs. Above, truck roofs with cutouts.

* FAST RUN: At the Otay port of entry, drug haulers often wait to cross the border until inspectors’ shifts are winding down. A daily “banzai run” occurs at 3:30 p.m.-quitting time for CHP officers and half an hour before the end of Customs inspectors’ shifts. In photo above, the rush of trucks begins.

* STRANGE SCENTS: Mustard, talcum powder and garlic are rubbed on drug containers to cover up the scent. Drug smuggling cartels may test these techniques on their own trained drug-sniffing dogs.

* HOLLOW SOUNDS: Internal cage-like gridwork holds drugs 6-8 inches away from the walls of tankers, so the driver can thump on the side and get a hollow sound in an attempt to demonstrate the truck is empty.

Source: U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Customs inspectors.