How well are we protected?

greg334

Veteran Expediter
OK many of you heard the problem they had with three ‘middle eastern’ men who were caught at port of Miami with a truck, no proper ID, no manifest. Watching the news last night and this morning, the news blew by this as it was a normal occurrence.

So I am reading this a little bit ago;

“News4 Jax

MIAMI -- Three Middle Eastern men in a cargo truck sparked a brief terrorism scare at the Port of Miami until officials determined their freight was harmless and the incident had stemmed from a simple misunderstanding.

The port's cargo area was shut down Sunday and a bomb squad moved the truck away from public areas to scan it for radioactive materials. Nothing unusual was found, officials said.

The men in the truck -- two Iraqis and one Lebanese national -- were in local police custody, but authorities said no federal charges were expected. Officials initially said the men, all permanent U.S. residents, had been caught trying to slip past a checkpoint at the port's entrance.

The truck's contents -- electrical automotive parts in a 40-foot container -- matched the driver's cargo manifest, said Miami-Dade police spokeswoman Nancy Goldberg.

A port security officer became suspicious when the truck driver could not produce proper paperwork in a routine inspection to enter the port about 8 a.m., Goldberg said.

The driver also indicated he was alone in the truck, though security officers found two other men in the cab, she said. The two passengers, ages 28 and 29, were a friend and a relative of the 20-year-old Iraqi driver, she said.

"Due to a miscommunication between the gate security personnel and the truck driver, we believe there was a discrepancy in the number of people in the vehicle," Goldberg said. "This, and the fact that one of the individuals did not have any form of ID, raised our level of concern."

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security were called to the scene, along with federal and local law enforcers, "in an abundance of caution," Goldberg said.

More than 20 pallets containing spools of wire and other automotive parts taken from the truck were being scanned, but no radioactive material had been found, said Jose Ramirez, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman.

The three men do not appear on any terrorist watch list, said Barbara Gonzalez, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman. Their identities were not released and their employer was unknown.â€

Now there is a manifest but the driver is 20 years old and there was a ‘miscommunications'problem? The funny thing is that they are from Dearborn Michigan.

I have to throw this out there, why is a 20 years old who may not be able to speak English driving a truck?

AND

Why is it that we non-middle eastern drivers being hassled at the borders when this problem of trying to sneak through security with people who were hiding in the truck? Was this a surveillance trip for a possible terrorist attack?
 

bryan

Veteran Expediter
Hi

They don't want to be accused of racial profiling.Of course by always picking on the non-terrorist looking people that could also be considered racial profiling.So now they have to decide which one is going to sue the officer, the terrorist or the citizen who they can always say they are trying to protect.Like water they choose the path of least resistance.

No I don't think it was a recon mission on the 20 year olds part.I figure some auto supplier needed parts moved cheap and he needed money.The problem of any warm body will do mentallity meets easy money mentallity.

I noticed that there was no mention of impounding the freight.What a shame.That might of made the shipper think twice the next time.
 

greg334

Veteran Expediter
No I don't think it was a recon mission on the 20 year olds part.

Huh?

Some of the best information gathering people are young people who blend in.
 

cheri1122

Veteran Expediter
Driver
I still don't understand the problem people have with racial profiling - most LEOs develop a pretty good sense of who is "wrong" for the place, time, or reason stated - why can't we use that?
In the airport in Oklahoma City, I was selected for a closer examination than most passengers, ie: a baggage search. It was explained as a random thing, but I think I was chosen because I don't fit the profile, thus proving that the security personnel aren't profiling. The only thing about it that I minded, was the time wasted on me, which I thought could be better spent looking at passengers who fit "the profile".
If there ever develops a terrorist bunch of middle aged white women, and I fit that profile, I still won't mind being selected. because the inconvenience is really very slight - unless, of course, they find further reason to detain you.
 

Jayman

Expert Expediter
"I still won't mind being selected. because the inconvenience is really very slight - unless, of course, they find further reason to detain youI still won't mind being selected. because the inconvenience is really very slight - unless, of course, they find further reason to detain you".

As I get out my rubber gloves. :+

"I still don't understand the problem people have with racial profiling".

Hey...we agree on something! :D
 
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