[Editor's Note: Thanks to Leslie Broken of Deming for sharing these comprehensive notes with the Grant County Beat for viewing by our readers. I concur that our border counties in NM should consider expanding this program to our area.]

SABRE PRESENTATION
7/14/2022

Cochise AZ Sheriff Dept, Sgt Tim Williams

Cochise County, AZ

• Includes the Bisbee / Sierra Vista area
• 38th largest county in the US
• 83 miles of US/MX border
• Half of the county has no cell phone coverage or radio communication
• Spotty cell phone coverage in other areas
• Law enforcement relies on landlines from private citizens in these remote areas to call for assistance
• 90 Sworn Law Enforcement officers
• Population 120,000
• The Sabre program has been a huge force multiplier in Cochise County
• There were 3 officers from Cochise County present at the meeting, which is 85% of the unit dedicated to the Sabre program.

SABRE program 2017 – present

• SABRE Program developed by the Sheriff's Dept to deal with drug mules crossing the border.
• It is a system of game (hunting) cameras that transmit back to the Sheriff's Department.
• The program has been expanded and improved over the years.
• Approximate cost to date $1.1 million. It covers an area from the New Mexico border to Yuma, Arizona.
• It took years to build out.
• These game cameras enable law enforcement to determine how many drug mules and undocumented immigrants (illegals) looking for a better life are crossing the border illegally compared to how many illegals are being captured.
• For those who are not captured, they simply disappear into the US; if they don't commit a crime, no one knows they are here.
• This is a County program, not a Federal program.

CHANGES OVER TIME

• When the program first started it was fairly easy to distinguish between drug mules and undocumented immigrants.
• All used to wear street clothes, with the drug mules carrying large back packs of mostly marijuana approximately 100# per pack.
• When AZ legalized marijuana, the mules changed to smuggling Methamphetamine and Fentanyl, etc. in smaller backpacks weighing roughly 100#. These smaller back packs resemble the backpacks the undocumented immigrants use, making it impossible to distinguish which ones were mules.
• We are told that most of the persons crossing the border are simply seeking a better life. This isn't true. One of several examples: Salvador Gutierrez Vargas, arrested for disposing a body of a person murdered by someone else, sentenced to 15 years. On release he was deported, he came right back to the US across the AZ/MX border, and eventually arrested again. This is not being reported by the media.
• Undocumented Alien (UDA) violence in Cochise County has increased. Assaults against citizens in National Parks. Assaults against Border Patrol agents. Assaults against Forest Dept workers. Cartel member shootouts. Violence against US residents.
• Border Crossing activity is extremely high.

CURRENT BARRIER BETWEEN US AND MX

• 3 to 6 strands of barb wire fencing between the US and MX does not stop people from crossing the border. In fact, you can't even tell it is a border between the US and MX.
• A large part of the US/MX is still just a barb wire fence, including Luna County
• Critical to have more than just barb wire to distinguish the border between the two countries

CURRENT TRENDS

• 90% of the people their cameras are capturing images of are military age males.
• They are all dressed in camouflage, head to toe, with camouflage backpacks.
• These people are not simply turning themselves in once they cross the border, unlike what the media is telling people. These people actively resist.
• At times, they are heavily armed with AK/AR style rifles. (Images shown they carry the rifle in the "at the ready" position, as opposed to a rifle slung over the shoulder.)
• The worst case scenario is to run into these armed people.

TRUMP'S WALL

• It doesn't matter about how high the wall is.
• As the media points out, build a 30' wall, they will built a 31' ladder.
• The cartel did build taller ladders and the illegals simply rappel down the US side of the border.
• The real beauty of the Trump Wall (in the areas where it is up) is the technology that came with the wall, including fiber optic technology. If the fence is touched, an alert is sent out, alerting Border Patrol the location where they are crossing.
• When Biden came into office, he signed an Executive Order to stop the technology.
• In order for law enforcement to take action, a crime has to be committed.
• When illegals cross the wall into the US without documentation, they have committed a crime. There is no doubt that they know that is the US/MX border.
• The Trump wall technology would alert Border Patrol and direct them where to respond quickly. This is what Border Patrol really wanted.

ADDITIONAL CRIMES

• In Mexico, televised advertisements are directing people to cross into the US and head to Oregon. The company advertising states they will hire these people.
• One person caught explained that he paid the cartel $8,000 so he could get that job in Oregon.
• The cartel got him over the fence, and was going to provide the ride to the destination in Oregon so he could work.
• The people that pay to cross the border are funding a Criminal Organization (the cartel).
• They are not paying taxes in the US as they are working for cash.
• Is it a crime in the US for US companies to advertise in foreign countries to hire illegal undocumented workers?
• This is a problem our legislature needs to address.

HOW MANY ARE APPREHENDED?

• Law enforcement only apprehends a very small portion of those crossing the border illegally.
• For example, in March of 2022, over 8,000 people crossed into the US illegally. Approximately 250 were captured by Border Patrol.
• In the past, only small groups of people would cross the border together.
• Now they are seeing 500-700 people cross at the same time, again all in camouflage.
• Once they cross, they run and scatter in all directions. This is a new tactic.
• There are only 6-7 law enforcement officers on duty, plus a few hundred border patrol agents. They are outnumbered. It is impossible to catch them all.
• Once they scatter, they head into the communities in Cochise County and wreak havoc.
• They run thru neighborhoods, schools grounds, all over the place trying evade capture and to get to their pick-up points.
• In the desert areas, they are also using branches to further camouflage themselves (similar to what a military sniper does) in order to evade being detected by aerial surveillance planes and drones. Between the additional camouflage, and heat signature evasion techniques it is getting harder to detect them. This group of military ages males are not looking for work.
• Tensions in Cochise County are high, and patience of citizens is very thin.
• Law enforcement is working hard with the community; everyone is frustrated.
• The sheriff's department sees where the border crossers are and gives the location to deputies assigned. These are live cameras images.
• Once these illegals near populated areas, they start stripping off their camouflage clothing and backpacks, water bottles, their carpet shoes, etc. and liter them all over the trails as they head to their pick-up points.
• At this point they are dressed in street clothing in order to blend in.
• At times when they are avoiding law enforcement, they will simply head to a house and sit on the front porch making it appear that they live at the residence. In turn, this causes homeowners to have concerns.
• Carpet shoes are used to hide their footprints in the sand.
• The people that come across are dedicated to defeating being detected. Some even crawl miles in order to avoid being detected. This is a new level of dedication that they haven't seen before.

BUCKEYE COUNTY

• A series of graphs shown covering 2019-2022 shows that for the past 12 months the number of illegal border crossings in Buckeye County have more than doubled.
• March 2021 approximately 3,000, versus approximately 8,000 in March 2022.
• Again, these are mostly people that don't give up.

MULES vs OTHER ILLEGAL ALIENS

• There are not many children coming across the border in their area due to the rugged terrain; desert, mountains, etc.
• That said, they are smuggling smaller children across stuffed inside camouflage backpacks that are the same size as used for smuggling meth, etc. (Photo image of a small child emerging from a back page in the presentation.)
• In the past, marijuana was smuggled in a burlap pack with rope; it was very easy to spot.
• This changed in 2020 when marijuana legalized.
• Backpacks carrying 94 pounds of meth is worth approximately $300,000 on the SW border.
• 94 pounds of meth successfully smuggled to the east coast is worth millions.
• The huge mark-up and substantial profits provide the motivation.
• As a result, the whole country now has a border problem.
• Sheriff's from across the US are traveling to Cochise County to get educated on the border problem, and to learn about the SABRE system they designed and implemented.
• Next week, representatives from South Dakota will be traveling to Cochise County.

LAW ENFORCEMENT PROBLEM

• In the past, a local law enforcement officer could readily observe a marijuana back-pack and make an arrest (state law, not federal).
• Now with everyone using regular backpacks, local law enforcement can not detect which persons have illegal contraband, or clothing, or other legal items.
• Local law enforcement can stop people if they know they are breaking a state law.
• Cochise County is trying to develop and test new equipment that will enable them to detect which backpacks contain drugs or other contraband.
• Between Border Patrol and Cochise County, there is currently a 33% apprehension rate of illegal border crossings. Sheriffs can only stop people for violations of state/federal crimes unrelated to immigration.

NEW – OPERATION SAFE STREETS

• The cartels know our laws and police tactics and use them to help their mules avoid detection or being stopped.
• For example, Cartels know that law enforcement will not get into high speed chases in order to avoid loss of life due to high speed vehicle crashes.
• Cartels are now instructing the drivers that pick up and transport illegals and mules to their destination points to drive crazy and drive fast if they see law enforcement, because they know law enforcement will back off.
• These transporters are now young kids, driving at speeds upwards of 100 mph and at times are driving on the wrong side of the expressways and roads to avoid getting stopped.
• One example of several that was provided was a young driver who drive 15 miles at speeds over 100 mph on the wrong side of the highway, who eventually crashed. Even though law enforcement had backed off, the kid kept driving on the wrong side at high speeds.
• In another case in Cochise County, law enforcement was involved in a 100-mile pursuit. A 17-year-old driver, with 4 illegals as passengers was driving at night, with headlights off at oncoming traffic. Law enforcement terminated pursuit, but an aerial unit followed and assisted them in tracking. He made it all the way to I-10 and eventually was stopped. This 17-year-old was vulgar, defiant, and arrogant. There is no way to change this type of attitude.
• Cartels are recruiting young kids to get hired as drivers via social media accounts. They are offering kids $1,500 to $2,500 for each car load of passengers they deliver. Some of these kids are managing up to 4 car loads per day.
• As a result of this change in cartel tactics, and the high risk to the community, Cochise County Sheriff's Department along with prosecutors have spent some time coming up with a response plan.
• First, they created a dedicated team of officers that respond to these types of high-speed evasion incidents. This team creates a perimeter and forms a corridor in order to use tire spikes.
• The drivers are charged with four (4) felonies for each passenger in the vehicle, including kidnapping. The passengers did not sign up to be involved in a 100 mph law enforcement chase that could result in death.
• By using the state laws, they are putting these kids in jail for a long time.
• The drug mules are enabling drug pushing across the entire country.
• When law enforcement stops an illegal, and they haven't committed any other crime, the only thing law enforcement can do is call border patrol, and that winds up being a revolving door.
• As a result, detection of violation of state crimes is essential.
• If a driver transporting illegals or mules does not flee, law enforcement must release them to the feds. However, if a driver flees, then state laws kick in and law enforcement can make an arrest.

As a result of efforts in Cochise County, which butts up against Hidalgo County in SW New Mexico, the cartel is now starting to avoid Cochise County.

Unfortunately for Hidalgo and Luna Counties, this means the illegal border crossings are going to increase in our area.

LAW ENFORCEMENT ALONG THE NEW MEXICO BORDER
Prepare for:

• An increase in high speed evasion tactics and related traffic threats.
• An increase in run-ins with residents, at times with heavily armed mules
• A significant increase in illegal border crossings

RESIDENTS ALONG THE BORDER

Luna County (along with Hidalgo and Dona Ana Counties) and the related law enforcement agencies should highly consider building out a Sabre System along the southern New Mexico border.

Residents along the New Mexico border should petition their County Commissioners and the sheriff's department to build out a Sabre System, as well as work to develop a program to get the word out that "smuggling humans and fleeing equals jail time".

Residents should call in sightings of person who have possibly crossed the border illegally, especially if dressed in camouflage to 911 and to Border Patrol. Give a description including how many, where sighted, and which direction headed.

Q&A
Isn't the real problem demand for drugs from drug addicts?
The problem is two-fold. The more drugs that are smuggled in, the more drugs are available, and the more drugs available, the more the drug addiction problem spreads.

Do they share info w/CBP?
Yes. However, the various law enforcement agencies don't always work well together. Also, the federal government has hundreds of agents, and the local law enforcement agencies only have a small number of officers. Cochise County works seamlessly with Border Patrol.

What about citizen volunteer clean-up crews for the backpacks and litter?
If you see camouflage backpacks and other items discarded, please be aware that these items may contain dangerous residues of drugs. Also note there has been a resurgence of diseases that we haven't seen in the U.S. in many years. Do not pick these up with bare hands. Call the sheriff's department for safe handling techniques if you want to help clean up the mess, but be aware of the risks.

Is it possible to use specially trained animals, such as rats, dogs and parrots, to detect what is in someone's backpack so that if drugs or other illegal contraband is detected that local law enforcement can make the arrest?
Unknown if rats or parrots could be used, however, as with any detection device (animal or electronic) an officer must be physically present. There are nowhere near enough law enforcement officers, and detecting what is in a pack is manpower intensive. No one wants to be a cop anymore. The atmosphere in the U.S. has changed, and in some states the laws deter people from becoming police officers. In Cochise County, he has no problem telling people he's a cop. But, in other areas in the U.S. there is no way he would reveal he is in law enforcement.

What about the Aerostat balloons?
He has no information on the Aerostats in Cochise County other than it is military.

What about the new detection equipment technology he mentioned?
It doesn't currently exist. There are a lot of smart private people working with Cochise County to create a process to analyze what is in backpacks.