As we stated earlier, most of the safes we have encountered were opened by sheer force. The amateur will spend a great deal of time attacking the hinges on the door to gain entry. This attempt is totally useless because the locking bars that go through the safe door into the safe walls maintain the seal and integrity of the door. The only function of the hinges is to hold the door onto the safe when the door is opened or closed.
We believe that a criminal feels it is a lot easier to perform an armed robbery than to go through all the trouble and physical labor required to open a safe.
Our criminal, after going through one hell of an exhausting night, is resting comfortably in his own bed with the proceeds safely tucked underneath the mattress. The next thing he realizes is the police crashing through his door and arresting him. You ask how they got him so quickly? Well, he left his wallet at the scene and because he was so exhausted with all that physical labor, he forgot it.
Lockpicking
Picking a lock is not as easy as it looks on television and in the movies. While it is true that one can open some door locks with a credit card, most locks are much more complex. The common locks found in doors, cars, desks, filing cabinets and some small safes have what are known as pin tumbler locks. These locks offer a medium level of security protection.
Pin tumbler locks contain a series of small pins. These are the tumblers, held in place by other pins, which are
called drivers, and the drivers are held in place by a series of springs. When the key for that lock is inserted, all the tumblers are driven to a certain point. This point allows the key to turn and the lock to unlock. The better the lock, the higher degree of tolerance that is needed between the key and the lock contacts. The degree of tolerance is how snugly the key must rest against the tumblers.
Pin tumbler locks are ones that can be picked. But a good portion of the time, the locks are stronger than the door, and therefore the door will be smashed to gain entry. On doors that are installed improperly, that is, with hinges exposed, the hinge pins will be removed, and the door will then be opened from the hinge side.
Lock experts, both legitimate and criminal, state that lockpickers must have a certain degree of dexterity. If you are clumsy and don't work well with your fingers, you will never become a lockpicker. To pick a lock one must practice, practice and practice some more. Well-made key locks require more talent than key locks that are found on desk and file cabinets.
One practices this craft by purchasing or, better yet, stealing the locks. Once these locks are obtained, our crooks practice until they get it right. When they are proficient, a door lock can be picked in as little as seven seconds. The whole key to this is putting just the right amount of pressure on the tumblers.
Before we describe how locks are picked, let's give you an inside tip on what burglars do to give them more time to escape when you arrive home a little earlier than planned. They place small pieces of broken toothpicks in the keyhole after they enter. The reason for this is your key will not fit into the lock, so you cannot enter your home. The noise that you make trying to open your door will alert our burglar that you are home.
If you were to pick a lock trying to maintain a degree of silence, you would use two items. The first item is a pick, which comes in a variety of sizes and shapes and is made from spring steel. Picks are either homemade or can be ordered from a catalog. The purchased picks are a lot better because they give you more variety. Picks are straight, curved or have different shapes cut into them. Obviously, the greater variety of picks, the greater versatility in the locks you can pick.
The second tool is a tension tool. The tension tool also comes in a variety of shapes and is made from spring steel. The tool is used to control pressure on the lock during the whole procedure. The tension tool will be turned in the direction the lock opens. We all have seen our special secret agent in the movies picking a lock with just one simple tool. This cannot be done, you need both the pick and tension tool. The tension tool is sometimes referred to as a tension wrench. This tension wrench keeps tension on the cylinder and assists in turning it to open the lock.
To review, the pick is slid into the key hole. It is manipulated to raise the pins to their opening point. The tension tool is directly below the pick and keeps pressure on the pins while rotating. The pressure that the tension tool causes holds the pins in their open position. The lockpicker feels the vibration of the pins in his fingers and hears a distinctive click.
Other items can be substituted for the pick and tension tool. The tension tool can be made from a strong steel wire with the tip bent slightly or perhaps a small jeweler's flat-head screwdriver, again with the tip altered. The pick can be made with strong safety pins with the end sanded smooth. The one good thing about using a safety pin pick is that it could be easily hidden and looks harmless if located.
There are techniques to pick just about any lock made today. Locks that have been picked can be identified after examination at a forensics laboratory.
Some locks cannot be opened by picking. These locks have what is known as high-security pin tumblers. These pin tumblers are designed to discourage lockpicking. When you are attempting to open the lock these pin tumblers feel like they are at the open position when they are nowhere near that position.
Only the most skilled professional can open high-secu-rity locks by picking. Another method of entry requires taking a small high-speed hand drill and drilling a small hole just above the center of the tumblers. When this has been accomplished, the center of the lock will turn and the lock will open.
Another method similar to using a credit card, is to slip a small bent piece of wire through an opening in the door and attempt to unlock the lock from the inside. This is mainly done when you have a key entry on the outside of the door and a turning knob on the inside of the door. A thief can look through a window on the door, guide the bent wire onto the knob and turn it to open the lock. This is also a technique used to gain entry into vehicles.
A small screwdriver or pry bar can be inserted into the small opening between the frame and the door, and with minimal force, the door can be popped open. If the lock is an inexpensive one, two simple paper clips, opened and bent at 45 degree angles, can be placed horizontally one above the other. Jiggling the paper clips and turning the knob at the same time may be all that is needed to open the door.
One of the most widely used writer's gimmicks is the impression method. A person holds a piece of moldable wax or clay and the key is pressed into this material, forming an impression of the key, which can be easily duplicated. An important item to remember is that a key has two sides and both sides must have impressions.
When it comes to padlocks, the easiest method is just to cut the shackle, which is the curved part, with a bolt cutter.
Some interesting points to remember in lockpicking are that after you pick the lock open, you have to return it to normal or the key may not work properly which would cause detection. To determine which way to turn the tension tool, try it in one direction and, if that doesn't work, just use the tension tool in the opposite direction.
If your lockpicking is not going as swiftly as you would like, and your hands start to cramp, your picking will be unsuccessful. Take a moment to relax your hands and then go back to it.
If one does not possess the skill to pick locks, there are pick guns. They come in all shapes and sizes and are quite expensive. They are hard to conceal on your person and the law enforcement community will recognize them immediately.
To use a pick gun, you insert it into the key hole and lightly squeeze the trigger. The gun applies pressure in the same way as the tension tool and aligns the pins so that they are in the open position. Some pick guns will turn the knob, others you have to turn with a tension tool.
If all else fails, you can have your burglars break a window, reach inside and unlock the door.
Leaders of narcotic trafficking networks are people who conspire with others to become the admin
istrator or financier of an organization designed to profit from the unlawful manufacture, transport and distribution of a controlled substance. A drug lord can head up a major cartel employing hundreds of people or a small group. Smuggling is conducted worldwide, and they will use any scheme necessary to import their products.
Let's go into detail about the different types of drugs that are currently being smuggled.
Cocaine
In the 1800s, cocaine was legal in the United States. It was treated much like caffeine is today, and was used in a number of food products. The Harrison Anti-Narcotics Act, passed by Congress in 1914, outlawed possession of cocaine. Cocaine increased in popularity in the United States during the 1970s. At that time people believed that cocaine was not addictive, and this misconception made it the drug of choice.
Cocaine is grown in Colombia, Peru and other mountainous countries with suitable climates. Cocaine is extracted from the alkaloid of the leaves of the small coca bush. Cocaine increases energy and creates a feeling of confidence in the user; it is also a stimulant and will promote weight loss. These properties made cocaine popular with the Jet Set of the 1970s.
Drug smugglers remove the alkaloid through a series of dangerous procedures involving highly flammable chemicals. The end product is purified, which makes cocaine incredibly potent. Just about all exported cocaine is manufactured in the same area where it is grown. Cocaine is usually sold in grams or ounces packaged in small plastic bags. Additives such as inositol, baking soda and milk sugar are mixed with the cocaine until it is about fifty to seventy-five percent pure. Cocaine is cut this way to stretch the amount sold, bringing in more money.
Freebasing
Late in the 1970s and early in the 1980s, freebasing became the method of consumption of cocaine. Freebasing cocaine increases the potency of the drug. To freebase cocaine, the user mixes baking soda or sodium bicarbonate with the cocaine to remove the additives placed in it. The remaining cocaine is then placed into a pipe and a steady heat source from an open flame is applied to the pipe. This produces a vapor that is inhaled through the pipe directly into the lungs, causing an almost instantaneous reaction.
Crack
In the late 1980s, a new and more potent form of cocaine appeared on the inner-city streets. Crack is stronger, faster-acting and much cheaper than the powder form of cocaine. A piece of crack, which sells for around five dollars, is similar in shape and size to a peanut. Crack cocaine is very addictive, and one ounce of powder cocaine can make nearly 240 pieces of crack. Much like freebasing, crack is smoked through a pipe. When inhaled, this high-dose drug takes only seconds to show its effects. People using crack report that they became addicted after the first use. Crack is sold in small vials similar to perfume samplers. Crack is not only very addictive, but because of its purity, is also very toxic, and has a damaging effect on the nervous system.
Heroin
Heroin is once again increasing in popularity for two reasons: The price has gone down and the supply is plentiful. Heroin users feel that heroin is the safest of all the hard narcotics. Heroin is sold in glassine bags known as dime bags. A heroin addict can use as much as $600 a day in his habit. These glassine bags will have a stamped trademark, or legend, usually a name along with a picture. Some names seen on the streets are Tombstone, 44 Magnum, TNT and Minuteman. The heroin user will use these markings as a sort of consumers' guide for his product.
Heroin is either injected with a syringe under the skin, called skin popping, or directly into a vein, called mainlining. Smoking heroin is increasing in popularity because of the AIDS epidemic and a desire to avoid track marks. Track marks occur over time when the repetitive injections cause ulcering and collapsed veins.
Speedballs
Speedballs are a mixture of crack and heroin, which is generally smoked. Speedballs are like crack in many ways: It is a very intense, but short-lived, high, usually less than ten minutes.
Methamphetamine
The new kid on the block, which was first seen in Hawaii and sold by Filipino gangs, is called Ice. Ice is basically crystallized methamphetamine. Ice is almost 100 percent pure
and is more lethal and addictive than any other drug. Ice resembles rock salt with different colors. These colors are used to determine the quality; the clearer the color, the better the quality. Ice is cheaper than cocaine or heroin and the effects have been known to last up to twenty-four hours. Ice, like crack, is very addictive and dangerous. Methods of ingestion are smoking, snorting or injection. Ice is predominantly a West Coast drug and is not seen much on the East Coast.
Designer Drugs
Designer drugs are manufactured to produce effects similar to other narcotic drugs. Designer drugs can be injected, smoked, snorted or come in a pill form. A person with a chemistry background produces designer drugs in small clandestine laboratories using no quality control. Some popular designer drugs are Fentanyl Citrate, referred to as China white, and Ecstasy, called Adam and XTC.
The Old Standbys
Hallucinogens were prevalent in the 1960s and are gaining popularity once again. LSD and PCP are two of the more well-known ones. They both have a number of street names. LSD is colorless and odorless, which makes it extremely dangerous. Some street names are Blotter Acid, Microdot and Orange Sunshine. PCP is a white crystal powder and when manufactured poorly, it could be tan or brown. Some street names for PCP are Angel Dust, Dust, Super Grass, Killer Weed, and Rocket Fuel. Hallucinogens are ingested by swallowing, and PCP is almost always smoked.
Marijuana was very popular during the 1960s and 1970s with the rock culture. It was widely used in the open. Marijuana decreased in popularity in the 1980s but is increasing in popularity once again. Marijuana is smoked either out of a pipe or in cigarette form.
Asian Gangs
Opium is being grown in more places and the quality of heroin is becoming more pure, so the demand for heroin in the United States is increasing. Narcotics are smuggled in containers transported on ships. Most products that are shipped worldwide, are shipped in steel containers. But U.S. Customs lacks the manpower to check each and every container, so this is an ideal avenue for smuggling.
Asian gangs smuggle heroin by attaching a device to the bottom of a ship so that it will not be found if the ship
is boarded by law enforcement authorities. Mother ships, like those used during prohibition, set anchor in international waters, small speed boats rendezvous with them, and the cargo is transferred. People are smuggled from China and other Asian countries to the United States in much the same way.
Asian gangs conceal their heroin inside of other objects: It may be inside cans of food, or stashed inside of statues, or just about anywhere. These people can be very creative!
The southeast Asian gangs are based in the Chinatowns of San Francisco and New York and mainly import and supply the heroin known as China White. Sometimes they are referred to as the Tongs, which was an organized crime group formed in nineteenth-century China. Enforcement is maintained by the Vietnamese gangs. The Asian traffickers smuggle from either coast, but the majority of the heroin is sold in the New York City area.
The Golden Triangle and Crescent
Because ports are open in the Middle East, the Golden Crescent is once again in business. Heroin processed in Afghanistan and Pakistan is finding its way through India, Iran and eventually Turkey. This area is known as the Middle Eastern heroin network, and some believe it is being run by the Syrians.
The Golden Triangle includes Hong Kong, Singapore, Laos, Burma, Taiwan and Thailand. Smuggling through these ports is easy because of the vast imports the United States receives from this area of the world.
The Asian region accounts for most of the narcotics smuggling, with Europe being next and South America and the Middle East at the end. Smuggling revenues are also used to support military operations in developing countries. For this reason, the never-ending supply of corrupt officials seems to make narcotic activity thrive.
Jamaican
Criminal Groups
Jamaican organized crime groups are often referred to as posses. Like the Asian gangs, infiltration is next to impossible, because of the tight bonding and nationalities of the members. The posses have two main sources of revenue: narcotic smuggling and proficiency in providing false documentation. Posse groups are very violent and appreciate high-power, high-capacity weaponry. To kill their enemies, a single 9mm shot to the head or a drive-by shooting in a public place is popular. Other forms of killing by posses are disemboweling, mutilation and even beheading. Bodies are disposed of by dumping in remote sites. It is common to have a victim's body part sent to his family. Torture before killing is also commonplace.
The Colombians generally supply the posses with their merchandise. The posse flies the shipment by private aircraft from Colombia onto one of ninety illegal landing strips on the island of Jamaica. Jamaica is the ideal transfer point because it is so close to South America and the United States. All of these flights are arranged and cleared through the officials of the countries the plane flies over.
When landing in Jamaica, time of day is not important. The cargo is transferred from one plane to another, and the plane will then fly to its final destination, either Florida or Georgia to an unprotected landing strip. These planes are packed so full with narcotics that the pilot is totally enclosed and cannot exit the plane without first removing some of his cargo.
Posses import small amounts of narcotics using couriers and commercial airline flights. Young adults and females are popular couriers because they don't seem as suspicious. A female smuggler coming in from Jamaica once used a dead infant to smuggle the drugs—the body was cut open and the internal organs were removed and replaced with cocaine. The woman was apprehended when a suspicious crew member noticed the infant didn't move or cry. Marijuana and cocaine are smuggled in hidden spaces in carry-on luggage or body cavities. For larger loads, small private planes are loaded on municipal airports within the islands and transported to isolated landing strips in Florida. Posses also use cruise ships and smaller private boats for transportation.
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