[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 21]
[House]
[Pages 28834-28835]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               DRUG SMUGGLERS USE FAKE GOVERNMENT TRUCKS

  (Mr. POE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. POE. Madam Speaker, the drug smugglers have gotten smarter. They 
now disguise vehicles they are using to smuggle drugs into America to 
look exactly like Texas State transportation trucks. They mask them 
with official decals and even license plates; thus, making it easier to 
bring drugs into the United States.
  Even though this criminal activity is highly organized, at least 11 
drug dealers have been captured bringing thousands of dollars worth of 
drugs into our country using these fake State vehicles.
  But when the U.S. Attorney prosecuted these criminals, they received 
relatively light sentences. Some people received only fines. One 
received 24 months in prison, far less than the 11- and 12-year 
sentences that Border Agents Ramos and Compean received when they were 
prosecuted by the same U.S. Attorney for wounding a drug smuggler on 
the border.
  The U.S. Attorney's weak prosecution of drug smugglers is disturbing. 
The U.S. Attorney's Office seems to be more interested in prosecuting 
border agents than it is in prosecuting the real criminals that bring 
drugs into our country. The overwhelming message here is that a measly 
fine is just a cost of doing business: the drug smuggling business in 
America.

[[Page 28835]]

  And that's just the way it is.

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