WHEREAS, hidden compartments or concealed traps have been a long-standing method of operation by smugglers to conceal various types of contraband, including drugs, money, and related contraband; and

WHEREAS, traffickers smuggling their product and/or illegal proceeds into or through the United States use many low- and high-tech methods to conceal both their intent and their contraband from law enforcement authorities, which are often difficult to identify at busy border points of entry; and

WHEREAS, traffickers will continue to adapt and use different vehicles, more sophisticated traps, and concealment locations in an attempt to change their profiles and respond to law enforcement's identification and targeting of favorite vehicles; and

WHEREAS, new and even more sophisticated traps are virtually assured as various associated technologies, such as miniaturization, are refined. The miniaturization of trap components, such as electric motors, actuators, and hydraulic pistons, will allow fabricators to place traps in areas previously denied due to size constraints; and

WHEREAS, given this trend to use increasingly sophisticated traps, there is a need for increased training for law enforcement officers to detect concealed compartments; and

WHEREAS, the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC) is a National Center supporting federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement through information sharing, analysis, coordination, and de-confliction; and

WHEREAS, EPIC publishes the EPIC Transportation Unit Bulletin series that often addresses newly encountered concealment methods based on information obtained from law enforcement reports, open sources, and High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Investigative Support Center (ISC) reports, among others; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED that the International Association of Chiefs of Police duly assembled at its 114th Annual Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, encourages all international law enforcement agencies to develop similar systems to identify and share intelligence information about traps and concealed compartments; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED that all United States law enforcement agencies are encouraged to have officers look for concealed traps and hidden compartments during routine stops and to report all hidden compartments, regardless of whether a seizure occurs, to EPIC.

Submitted by: Narcotics & Dangerous Drugs Committee

NDD.025.a07