Latest technology safeguards borders

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Authorities work diligently to protect our borders. It's a dangerous job that requires intense training and high tech tools to keep western New Yorkers safe.

From Fort Erie to Buffalo, the Peace Bridge is one of the busiest border crossings in the entire nation. With so much traffic in such a small area, Customs field offers are on guard 24/7 and technology has changed the game.

"It's a dangerous job...a dangerous job. All of our officers go through intense training program, in order to take care of that and respond to these situations," CBP Supervisory Officer Rich Misztal.

At the Peace Bridge in the last year, agents discovered 1,700 pounds of marijuana with nearly $70,000 in cash. These seizures and arrests were made after something raised primary officers' suspicions inside their booth.

The officers inspect vehicles crossing the border and scan passports. Misztal says he can't share what comes up on a computer screen when a passport is scanned, but it's a piece of the technology puzzle that helps lead officers to contraband.

In the last year, officers arrested more than 1,000 people at the Peace Bridge, some of whom were trying to get into the country illegally while tucked away and hidden by cargo. Acting Director Randy Howe says "impostors" are a growing problem at the northern border.

"We have people using other individual's documents so false documentation, that's a common threat right now," he noted.

People without documents who are trying to gain illegal entry don't stop at land bridges - they flock to the waterways, like the Niagara River.

Agent Andrew Sorge operates a specialized mobile camera perched atop an escalating tower. It rotates 360 degrees and can spot anything within three miles using infrared technology. Suspects become sitting ducks.

"You can see everything. There's no way they could hide from it. You can't hide your body heat. Even with clothes and things like that it's still going to be visible. You can't hide at night," Sorge said.

WEB EXTRA | Watch as agents demonstrate a water rescue in this two-and-a-half minute video

And agents are prepared for any and all situations. Each Customs officer and Border Patrol agent has a personal radiation detector, according to Lead Agent Mike Scioli.

"If that detector goes off with a large number, you got something and you want to make sure, you want to know what it is," he said.

The device alerted agents to a backpack where uranium was found, hidden inside.

Scioli said, "Put together with something else, is very deadly."

Agents have the ability through technology to determine the exact origin of the material, using a machine that tells what type of radioactive material it is.

And high power weaponry is also at an agent's disposal.

Agent Ray Mandel said, "We use a lot of the same technology that the military uses. We have quite a few of the same optics, vertical grips, lights, things of that nature. Quite sophisticated."

The weapons and technology help mitigate the threat of terror at our borders and beyond, keeping WNY out of harm's way.

While News 4 was out on this story, agents detected an actual threat. Agent John Connelly has spent five years patrolling international waters from Niagara Falls to the Peace Bridge and on that day, were needed by the international railroad bridge.

Connelly said, "After a while you can tell, see what fits in and what doesn't. We have a pretty large area, so we can't be everywhere."

Agents stopped the vessel in the middle of the Niagara River. With the help of cameras stationed all across the river, agents found one of the car doors on a train is open, which raises red flags.

"Things like that should be locked. So if they're open, it's kind of like a warning sign," Connelly said.

He says imposters will try to hide from the cameras, inside a rail car, or cling to the side, while the train is in motion.

Connelly and our cameras watch the train, but it became clear that this was a false alarm. But back in September in the same spot, it was not a bogus threat. A Belarusian man made a desperate dash from Canada to the United States.

Back then, Lead Agent Mike Scioli said, "You don't know what you're getting involved in. This subject could possible have a bomb on them, could have a weapon; you have no idea."

Infrared customs cameras caught his every move and an agent was already waiting on the U.S. side to take the man into custody, after which he was brought to a processing center to be searched and questioned.

WEB EXTRA | See photos of what the inside of the processing center looks like, as well as a few photos of the weapons Ed Drantch was allowed to shoot for this story

"So they'll be walked in and they'll be escorted in by some of the agents. At this point then, their items, luggage, whatever items are kind of separated from them at the time," Scioli explained.

The man was given a small snack and isolated in a holding cell before being fingerprinted by an electronic system called IAFIS. It provides agents information on local, state or federal charges, within a matter of 10 minutes.

Scioli said, "If they don't have to tell the truth, they're not going to. But this is almost our sure safe way of making sure we can identify exactly who they are."

Buffalo Sector Chief Brian Hastings added, "We've been given an unprecedented amount of manpower technology and infrastructure over the last seven years."

Hastings says more than 300 agents are on the force, up from a mere 32 in 2005. But as the nation faces a $16 trillion deficit, Customs and Border Protection is feeling the pinch.

"The budget will be a challenge for us. We're going to have to work smartly and efficiently to move forward and use the resources which we've been given the last seven years very effectively and manage that to the best of our ability," Hastings said.

While the Department of Homeland Security is slashing tens of thousands of dollars from its equipment budget, Hastings says the borders will still be well-protected, day and night.