"Branding: Just Another Mexican TCO Tool"

Here is an excerpt from my latest Borders & Intelligence column for Homeland Security Today magazine:

"I’m always on the lookout for great television shows, so I was intrigued when I heard about 'Sons of Anarchy,' a drama about an outlaw motorcycle club in a fictional northern California town. Last season, the club got involved with a faux Mexican transnational criminal organization (TCO) called the Galindo cartel, which of course piqued my interest. In one episode, the local sheriff, on behalf of the district attorney, orders 'Juice' to retrieve a sample of cocaine the club planned to ship for the TCO. The sheriff claims that if the cocaine is pure, it will have markers that the crime lab can use to isolate the region of origin. So is this just dramatic TV, or can an uncut cocaine sample provide US law enforcement with that kind of intelligence? ...This method of tracing illegal drug shipments to a specific TCO or geographical region seems to be a long shot. Fortunately, there are other ways US agencies—both along the border and across the United States—can determine where a brick of cocaine, heroin, or a bale of marijuana originated, and/or where it might be destined—and stamps are the primary one."

To read the rest of this article in the digital edition of this month's issue, please CLICK HERE!