Pubdate: Mon, 13 Apr 2009
Source: Wall Street Journal (US)
Copyright: 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.wsj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487
Author: Cam Simpson

AUTO THEFTS PLAGUE BORDER REGION

Mexican Drug Cartels Drive Much of Illicit Vehicle Trade; Laredo, 
Texas, Is Hit Hard

LAREDO, Texas -- This city along the Rio Grande is on the verge of 
becoming the stolen-car capital of the U.S., according to data set 
for release Monday that underscore how drug cartels are helping make 
the U.S.-Mexico border region a hot spot for vehicle thieves.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau, a nonprofit body that collects 
law-enforcement reports, said 1,960 vehicles were reported stolen in 
the Laredo metropolitan area last year, an increase of more than 47% 
since 2005, when Laredo ranked 32nd nationally. That comes to 827 
thefts per 100,000 people, putting Laredo just behind No. 1 Modesto, 
Calif. Of the 20 U.S. metropolitan regions with the highest theft 
rates, according to the crime bureau, seven are near the Mexico 
border: Laredo; San Diego; Albuquerque, N.M.; Tucson, Ariz.; El 
Centro, Calif.; El Paso, Texas; and Phoenix. El Paso in particular 
has jumped up the charts; it ranked 17th in 2008, compared with No. 81 in 2005.

While Mexican drug cartels aren't behind every stolen car along the 
border, police say their money drives the professional side of the 
trade. President Barack Obama will visit Mexico this week to show 
support for President Felipe Calderon, who is using Mexico's military 
to crack down on the drug cartels behind an epidemic of violence in 
northern Mexico. The White House says boosting federal 
law-enforcement efforts on the U.S. side is a priority.

Although drug violence in Laredo is down from the historic highs of a 
few years ago, people from all walks of life -- including police 
officers -- are falling prey to roving bands of car thieves.

One Laredo detective's Dodge Durango disappeared from outside his 
house, with his bulletproof vest and a semiautomatic handgun inside, 
police say. The local U.S. border-patrol chief recently had his 
pickup truck stolen, too. Mindy Casso, a news anchor at the Laredo 
NBC affiliate, stepped outside one morning to load her two kids into 
her Ford Ranger, only to find it was gone -- even though a private 
security car was patrolling her upscale neighborhood.

"It's overwhelming," said Carlos Maldonado, who was named Laredo's 
police chief last May. "I don't have an officer to put on every car 
in the city." Perched on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, the 
city is the busiest inland port in the U.S., with four bridges to 
Mexico. On the other side is a key center of the $30 billion-a-year 
Mexico-U.S. narcotics trade. Drug cartels have several uses for 
stolen cars. In some cases, traffickers provide the stolen vehicles 
to smugglers who move weapons bought in the U.S. across the border, 
according to a recent internal report by the Department of Homeland 
Security. It says cars sometimes are "laundered" with different 
plates. Using stolen cars makes good business sense for the cartels, 
which can minimize losses if the vehicles are seized, police say. 
Sgt. Eduardo Garcia, 39 years old, has led Laredo's stolen-vehicle 
task force, with nine men, for about eight years. He says Mexico's 
traffickers provide wish lists of makes and models to the best 
thieves -- preferably U.S. citizens who can legally drive an 
American-plated car into Mexico. Traffickers pay up to about $1,000 
apiece for highly valued vehicles, such as new Ford or Dodge pickup trucks.

Usually, police say, thieves work in three-or four-man teams. 
"Spotters" will find the cars they want, then quickly dispatch a car 
filled with thieves. The city of Laredo runs along the Rio Grande, 
meaning Mexico is just a few minutes away from almost any spot in 
town. "If it's stolen at 3 [p.m.], for example, it's in Mexico by 
3:05," Sgt. Garcia said. The city has tried to use license-plate 
readers to detect stolen cars, but the vehicles are frequently over 
the border before their owners even know they have been stolen. 
Detectives patrol the thieves' favorite areas, hoping to spot the 
crooks before they strike. But as the police watch the thieves, the 
thieves also watch the police. Although the city swaps undercover 
cars driven by auto-theft detectives every six to eight months, 
thieves often pinpoint the police cars. After his arrest last week, a 
ringleader rattled off the models driven by two detectives, Sgt. Garcia said.

Laredo police have few ways to track the traffickers calling the 
shots, who are largely in Mexico. Because of fears they would be 
targeted by drug cartels, the city's police officers are barred from 
crossing into Mexico. And Arturo Galvan, the longest-serving member 
of the task force, said corruption on the Mexican side has made it 
impossible even to work by phone. "Who can you trust?" he asked.

One tactic has proven effective: makeshift checkpoints on the city's 
busiest thoroughfare to Mexico, known as Bridge No. 2.

Manning the checkpoint one evening last week, Sgt. Garcia stood amid 
two lanes of traffic rolling into Mexico, his eyes darting back and 
forth for telltale signs: a valued vehicle, such as an expensive 
pickup truck, with a young male driver and no passengers. Then he 
looked for other signs, such as damage on a door handle or keyhole.

Many thieves get by when his overburdened team isn't watching. Still, 
Sgt. Garcia said that the checkpoints are effective. Police have 
noticed that when the checkpoints are manned, patrol car lights 
flashing, the number of reported thefts goes down.

"What we can do," Sgt. Garcia said, "is be a deterrent." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake