To Catch A Smuggler - General Discussion

[auntjess]

For the NatGeo Channel's To Catch A Smuggler shows, from various dates and locations.
Hope I'm not the only who watches these.
I just saw the TCaS South Pacific, which seems to be New Zealand so far. 
Their main worry seems to be agricultural pests, and cigarette smuggling.
 

[AZChristian]

You are NOT the only one.  We love them all.  But they make us wonder whether it's making us more nervous as we try not to look nervous in airports.  Especially now that they're finding a lot of "older" mules.

NOTE:  We do NOT carry drugs, nor do we accept packages from other people to give to someone at the destination city.

[auntjess]

My least favorite is Rome (I think), where while they don't want drug smuggling, they REALLY hate shoplifting in the gift shop.

And my favorite person is the tall immigration guy in Brazil; least favorite is the tall, thin agriculture woman in NY.

The mail/cargo ones are pretty interesting to me.

Edited October 10, 2022 by auntjess

[auntjess]

I've noticed in the Madrid episodes, the blur the carrier logo on planes.   Can't see a reason for this.
Saw a couple more NZ episodes.  Glad they seized the bear skin from the hunter trying to bring it home.

[Cobb Salad]

Glad to see there are others here who like this show!  It’s must watch TV for me, especially the US based ones. They seem to be showing the foreign ones (Spain, Columbia, etc.) ones over and over. For anyone here who’s interested there’s a Canadian version on YouTube.

Although it’s pretty certain how it’s going to end (or they wouldn’t show it) I like watching the segments where the authorities are on the trail of a drug smuggling ring - there were several episodes in the spring where they had caught some illegal activity going on at JFK that eventually led to an arrest of a smuggler coming from Curaçao.  

What does make me a bit nervous is the line of questioning some of these border agents use when one is entering the county, however I really don’t have anything to hide nor do I have plans to travel internationally.  

[AZChristian]

12 hours ago, auntjess said:

I've noticed in the Madrid episodes, the blur the carrier logo on planes.   Can't see a reason for this.
Saw a couple more NZ episodes.  Glad they seized the bear skin from the hunter trying to bring it home.

Where do you watch the NZ episodes?  I haven't yet seen them on my TV guide, and just want to know if I need to dig deeper.

[auntjess]

I do a search of my channels every day, and NatGeo is one of them.  I think it To Catch a Smuggler South Seas on some, but those have been NZ so far.
 

South Pacific shows

I'd love to see more Newark cargo.  One was antiquities, and they have experts come and examine them, and some have been repatriated to their county of origin.

Edited October 20, 2022 by auntjess

[auntjess]

On 10/10/2022 at 11:01 AM, AZChristian said:

NOTE:  We do NOT carry drugs, nor do we accept packages from other people to give to someone at the destination city.

Not even to give to someone's aunt?  We aunts get blamed for everything.

[AZChristian]

8 hours ago, auntjess said:

I do a search of my channels every day, and NatGeo is one of them.  I think it To Catch a Smuggler South Seas on some, but those have been NZ so far.
 

South Pacific shows

I'd love to see more Newark cargo.  One was antiquities, and they have experts come and examine them, and some have been repatriated to their county of origin.

Thanks for the link to the South Pacific shows!

[Cobb Salad]

The segment in last night’s episode with the customs agent collecting duty (taxes) from the international travelers was a bit boring but I’ll never understand the people who say they have nothing to declare despite insisting they’ve traveled internationally before then when they are caught when their luggage is inspected and claim “they didn’t know” they owe duty tax. Like the people who came back with gold. 

[auntjess]

I wonder what the American guy did in France all those years ago.  You'd think if it was something minor, it would have been expunged.
Rome is my least favorite locale.

[AZChristian]

Finally got a chance to watch the NZ version.  Loved it.  Totally different searches and finds.  Made me want to move to NZ - where the border folks don't care about anything but making sure you qualify to come into the country.

[auntjess]

10 hours ago, AZChristian said:

Finally got a chance to watch the NZ version.  Loved it.  Totally different searches and finds.  Made me want to move to NZ - where the border folks don't care about anything but making sure you qualify to come into the country.

You better not bring in agricultural pests though.  Oh, or cigarettes over the quota.

[Cobb Salad]

For anyone who’s interested the free National Geographic channel on YouTube has been showing the US episodes live over the past few days.  They’re episodes that have already aired on cable.   Something to maybe have on in the background.  

[auntjess]

I was watching another show on NatGeo Channel, CoastGuard, Dutch Caribbean, but the screen when it started showed To Catch a Smuggler Caribbean Coast.
The ones I saw, did deal more with rescues, and trafficking.

[auntjess]

Is the show scripted?

[tabloidlover]

On 10/18/2022 at 8:55 AM, Cobb Salad said:

Glad to see there are others here who like this show!  It’s must watch TV for me, especially the US based ones. They seem to be showing the foreign ones (Spain, Columbia, etc.) ones over and over. For anyone here who’s interested there’s a Canadian version on YouTube.

@Cobb Salad Do you have a link to the Canadian version?  I’m not finding it 🫤

[Cobb Salad]

@tabloidlover do a YouTube search “Canada's frontline border security” and it should come up.   It’s under a different channel name.  This show is not produced by National Geographic.  

[auntjess]

On 12/8/2022 at 6:49 AM, Cobb Salad said:

 do a YouTube search “Canada's frontline border security” and it should come up.   It’s under a different channel name.  This show is not produced by National Geographic

Thanks, I started to watch from the living room, and heard barking, so I'll go somewhere where Gidget won't hear it.  Sniffing dogs are the common denominator on all these shows, aren't they?

[AZChristian]

10 hours ago, auntjess said:

Thanks, I started to watch from the living room, and heard barking, so I'll go somewhere where Gidget won't hear it.  Sniffing dogs are the common denominator on all these shows, aren't they?

The dogs are amazing.  Seems like they'd be more objective than the agents who are looking for travelers who meet a pre-determined "profile."  

[auntjess]

The most judgmental ones are the ones in New Zealand.  The guy probably will smoke pot, so no entry for you.  I don't think I'd care to go there.  And I'm not a pot smoker.
The most frustrating one is Atlanta, because there's a big load of drugs they plan to intercept, and some train pulls across the road, or there's an accident on the freeway.
 

Edited January 3, 2023 by auntjess

[Minivanessa]

On 10/20/2022 at 7:40 PM, auntjess said:

Rome is my least favorite locale.

Mine too. The law enforcement guys there are always making smart-arse cracks at the people they bust for smuggling or being ineligible to enter the country. Like they can't just do their job, they have to rub it in. 

On 10/24/2022 at 8:51 AM, AZChristian said:

Finally got a chance to watch the NZ version.  Loved it.  Totally different searches and finds.  Made me want to move to NZ - where the border folks don't care about anything but making sure you qualify to come into the country.

I like the NZ shows in that they focus so much on keeping pests out of the country, whether in food products, sporting goods, or otherwise.

I just watched the NZ episode where they refused entry to the guy from the US who was a very regular pot user, on the basis that they believed he'd be using if allowed into NZ. Wow, that's a high level of discretion they exercised, but if their laws allow it, so be it. Anyway, that guy was such an ugly American, total smart-arse, mimicking the accent of the woman officer who was questioning him, acting so entitled like hurry up and quit delaying me - that I confess I wasn't sad for him. 

[sadtvjunkie]

I dislike the Miami ones. The young smug steroid looking dude with the Bambi eyed female officer should be dismissed. The way he speaks to people bro this, bro that, shows how low the US government has gotten in hiring people.

I used to work with Customs, immigration and agriculture in an airport in FL before they became CBP. Those guys all super low on the totem pole because nobody wants to stay in Miami. Most of them start at Krome the denotation center there. In my experience even the most annoying agents never acted so unprofessionally in the airport. Most were very chill and nothing fazed them, they didn't get excited and in someone's face if they asked why they were stopped.