Xraywolf
Silver Member
- Feb 28, 2005
- 3,576
- 4,362
- Detector(s) used
- Ace 400, AT Pro, equinox 800, Simplex,Vanquish 540
- Primary Interest:
- Metal Detecting
wow is all I can say, felt like I went into a time warp to Soviet Russia.
Was in Detroit grabbing some tamales, every time I go there I take the freeway there but have to take ratty side roads back because there is no good access to get on the freeway going the other way.
I figured screw that, there must be a way - And there used to be, haven't been that way in years but there used to be a quick turn around for the freeway, since then they extensively redesigned the whole area into an effective maze.
So I went down the service drive towards the Ambassador Bridge which goes to Canada. No turn arounds at all, I was channeled to a point where you either turned left or turned right. didn't want to go right as that led to one of the ratty streets I was talking about [Grand Blvd], so I turned left, figuring thats the way the freeway is. I envisioned a point with signs that said "Bridge this way, I96 that way" ,,, Didn't know it, but once I made that left turn I was committed to going to Canada and all that entails.
No way possible to turn around, I was stuck in a line of bridge traffic - If you happened to have just made a wrong turn like me, too damn bad ! To my left I saw what looked like a little street going towards the freeway so I cut across bridge traffic to get to it, got around a bend to find it was gated off. Shoot, so I backed up, and now I have the interest of border control.
6 of them swarmed my truck, some with hands by gun, I was like aww crap, how do I go from buying tamales to this in 5 minutes ?
One guy said what do you think you are doing ? I said well, I was trying to get to the freeway, apparently took a wrong turn and ended up here. So hes like Ok, got any ID ? I said yep. He asks to see it, I showed him. So where are you coming from ? Uhh ,, getting some tamales down the street. Where are you going to ? Freeway ! Why are you here then, this is for traffic headed to Canada ?
Explain again that I took a wrong turn .. So finally he said Ok, just go over there and my partners will get you turned around, pointing to a side lane with a bunch of border agents standing there waiting to rip vehicles apart. I though oh crap, what do I have illegal in my truck, anything ??
I should point out in the first place, I do look like a thug. Not a terrorist by any means, more like a Hells Angel, and my truck is pretty ghetto. I don't do drugs or generally engage in any illegal activity, but I haven't really cleaned my truck out in years, and I sure wasn't expecting to be scrutinized by border control.
So I pulled up [like I had a choice], Immediately the same thing. Got ID ? Where are you coming from ? Where are you going to ? Got any firearms, drugs or anything illegal ??
So eventually the head guy says turn your vehicle off, step out and keep your hands where we can see them. I felt like this was actually getting serious, from tamales to take down in 7 minutes.
So I did as told, I happened to be smoking and he said put out the cigarette, Ok. Just had a birthday a couple weeks ago, eagle eyes noticed my license was now expired, great. Then it hit me, about 3 months ago I was at a buddies house and I had some neck pain, I think I just slept wrong that night. He said here, try some of there and gave me 3 Tylenol 4's. I know they are pretty weak so I did try one, made me nauseous so I just threw the other 2 in the ash tray, and there they sat.
Tray is filled with spare change and tooth picks, the pills no doubt settled to the bottom with driving vibrations, so I hoped against hope he didn't find them - Wrong, of course. Came back to the guy who was watching me with his trophies, guy said hmm what do we have here ? Before I could answer he said Tylenol 4's ? I said yep. He said you got a prescription for them ? I said nope.
He said ok, so you just buy them off the street ? I said no, a buddy gave them to me a few months ago. Then, eagle eyes found what looked to be a weed roach, came back with that trophy as well and asked me where the rest of my pot was. I said I don't smoke pot, he said well, whats this ? I said it appeared to be a butt end of a marijuana cigarette, he said right ! What is it doing in there if you don't smoke it ?
I said sir, its in my truck and of course it is my responsibility, however I have not smoked pot since the mid 1980's [which is true] ,, I said do I have friends, associates, family members that are occasionally in my truck that smoke weed? The answer is yes, so I can only surmise that one of them was careless and left it sitting there.
So anyhow he goes on ripping apart my truck, and there is a lot to see ! Toolbox too on the back of the truck, luckily for me thats all he found. Have a little league aluminum baseball bat sitting in the back, he said play baseball much ? I said yep, I do. Of course we both knew its there for thumping, nut not illegal. Found a couple razor knifes but just left them sitting there. The guy who was watching me became a bit friendlier when it was obvious I was not as confrontational as I looked. I had a union Tshirt on [and an outlaw biker hat] so he asked me about both of those, and he told me that I could get a $5,000 fine for each pill, and forfeiture of my truck and all its contents [ I have a $1.5 k sound system, $700 alarm, GPS, radar detector, battery booster and even my Ace 400 and garrett pinpointer, not to mention all my tools in the back, forfeiture would have hurt badly].
So I was sweating a bit but kept my composure, I didn't play dumb, and really just told the truth, I was relieved that at least I apparently wasn't going to get stomped into the pavement as I first thought might happen no matter what I did - And yes, it has happened to me before.
So eagle eye finished up his check and walks back to us, he asks what about those ? referring to the contraband, guy I was talking to was apparently the head honcho and he said aww, this guys Ok we'll let him go with a warning. Just then an agent at the back of my truck said hold on a second, look at this !
I thought WTF, what did he find back there ? Other agents went rushing over there with a purpose, turns out he was just being a joker. I have a bunch of bumper stickers on the tailgait, one of them reads "Bad Cop No Doughnut ! on a badge shape ,,, He said Hmm I don't know, we might have to run this guy in now !
I could tell, or at least hoped, they were having a little fun, so I said hey, you guys aren't just cops, you are an elite border control unit ! He said elite ? hahahhhaaa, ok this guys ok let him go ! So it was a bit dicey at first but turned out ok, just quite a trip how an innocent wrong turn can put you half way to hell in the blink of an eye.
Still wasn't quite out of it, its really a chore to get out of there, traffic going there is meant to go over the bridge and that is it. So he says see that gray building over there, pointing to a gray building in the distance. I said yeah, he said Ok see that white truck by the building ? Just go there and they'll get you turned around. So I gingerly made my way through the maze towards the gray building and white truck [I figured if I made another wrong turn I'd run into tire spikes or something], saw a sign that said "Wait to be turned around here" so I figured this must be it.
Waited bout half an hour and I'm thinking WTF, are they toying with me or what ? finally a guy in an orange safety vest comes up and said what you need ? I said I need to get out, agents over there ripped apart my truck and interrogated me and let me go and told me to come here. He said ohh, Ok, got a slip ? I said what slip, they didn't give me anything. He said damn, they are supposed to give you a turnaround slip, I said well, they didn't.
So he says I'll be right back, so he went and talked to them and came back and motioned me to follow him, followed him to a gate which he opened and said see ya, this will take you to Fort St. I said adios. It was a maze even getting out of there, but only 1 way to go really.
As I drove down Grand blvd I saw where I turned in, and then I did see a sign that said "No re admittance to USA", but its easy enough not to see unless you happen to be looking up. I talked to a buddy of mine telling him about it and he said no **** ? Same exact thing happened to me last year, so I get the feeling there are dozens a day who wander into this snakes den by accident.
Not much to be done about it, rules are rules and of course they are very serious at large border crossings like this. Normally I believe LE requires a search warrant to search a vehicle, apparently y does not apply there, once you enter you are subject to complete search and seizure.
Was in Detroit grabbing some tamales, every time I go there I take the freeway there but have to take ratty side roads back because there is no good access to get on the freeway going the other way.
I figured screw that, there must be a way - And there used to be, haven't been that way in years but there used to be a quick turn around for the freeway, since then they extensively redesigned the whole area into an effective maze.
So I went down the service drive towards the Ambassador Bridge which goes to Canada. No turn arounds at all, I was channeled to a point where you either turned left or turned right. didn't want to go right as that led to one of the ratty streets I was talking about [Grand Blvd], so I turned left, figuring thats the way the freeway is. I envisioned a point with signs that said "Bridge this way, I96 that way" ,,, Didn't know it, but once I made that left turn I was committed to going to Canada and all that entails.
No way possible to turn around, I was stuck in a line of bridge traffic - If you happened to have just made a wrong turn like me, too damn bad ! To my left I saw what looked like a little street going towards the freeway so I cut across bridge traffic to get to it, got around a bend to find it was gated off. Shoot, so I backed up, and now I have the interest of border control.
6 of them swarmed my truck, some with hands by gun, I was like aww crap, how do I go from buying tamales to this in 5 minutes ?
One guy said what do you think you are doing ? I said well, I was trying to get to the freeway, apparently took a wrong turn and ended up here. So hes like Ok, got any ID ? I said yep. He asks to see it, I showed him. So where are you coming from ? Uhh ,, getting some tamales down the street. Where are you going to ? Freeway ! Why are you here then, this is for traffic headed to Canada ?
Explain again that I took a wrong turn .. So finally he said Ok, just go over there and my partners will get you turned around, pointing to a side lane with a bunch of border agents standing there waiting to rip vehicles apart. I though oh crap, what do I have illegal in my truck, anything ??
I should point out in the first place, I do look like a thug. Not a terrorist by any means, more like a Hells Angel, and my truck is pretty ghetto. I don't do drugs or generally engage in any illegal activity, but I haven't really cleaned my truck out in years, and I sure wasn't expecting to be scrutinized by border control.
So I pulled up [like I had a choice], Immediately the same thing. Got ID ? Where are you coming from ? Where are you going to ? Got any firearms, drugs or anything illegal ??
So eventually the head guy says turn your vehicle off, step out and keep your hands where we can see them. I felt like this was actually getting serious, from tamales to take down in 7 minutes.
So I did as told, I happened to be smoking and he said put out the cigarette, Ok. Just had a birthday a couple weeks ago, eagle eyes noticed my license was now expired, great. Then it hit me, about 3 months ago I was at a buddies house and I had some neck pain, I think I just slept wrong that night. He said here, try some of there and gave me 3 Tylenol 4's. I know they are pretty weak so I did try one, made me nauseous so I just threw the other 2 in the ash tray, and there they sat.
Tray is filled with spare change and tooth picks, the pills no doubt settled to the bottom with driving vibrations, so I hoped against hope he didn't find them - Wrong, of course. Came back to the guy who was watching me with his trophies, guy said hmm what do we have here ? Before I could answer he said Tylenol 4's ? I said yep. He said you got a prescription for them ? I said nope.
He said ok, so you just buy them off the street ? I said no, a buddy gave them to me a few months ago. Then, eagle eyes found what looked to be a weed roach, came back with that trophy as well and asked me where the rest of my pot was. I said I don't smoke pot, he said well, whats this ? I said it appeared to be a butt end of a marijuana cigarette, he said right ! What is it doing in there if you don't smoke it ?
I said sir, its in my truck and of course it is my responsibility, however I have not smoked pot since the mid 1980's [which is true] ,, I said do I have friends, associates, family members that are occasionally in my truck that smoke weed? The answer is yes, so I can only surmise that one of them was careless and left it sitting there.
So anyhow he goes on ripping apart my truck, and there is a lot to see ! Toolbox too on the back of the truck, luckily for me thats all he found. Have a little league aluminum baseball bat sitting in the back, he said play baseball much ? I said yep, I do. Of course we both knew its there for thumping, nut not illegal. Found a couple razor knifes but just left them sitting there. The guy who was watching me became a bit friendlier when it was obvious I was not as confrontational as I looked. I had a union Tshirt on [and an outlaw biker hat] so he asked me about both of those, and he told me that I could get a $5,000 fine for each pill, and forfeiture of my truck and all its contents [ I have a $1.5 k sound system, $700 alarm, GPS, radar detector, battery booster and even my Ace 400 and garrett pinpointer, not to mention all my tools in the back, forfeiture would have hurt badly].
So I was sweating a bit but kept my composure, I didn't play dumb, and really just told the truth, I was relieved that at least I apparently wasn't going to get stomped into the pavement as I first thought might happen no matter what I did - And yes, it has happened to me before.
So eagle eye finished up his check and walks back to us, he asks what about those ? referring to the contraband, guy I was talking to was apparently the head honcho and he said aww, this guys Ok we'll let him go with a warning. Just then an agent at the back of my truck said hold on a second, look at this !
I thought WTF, what did he find back there ? Other agents went rushing over there with a purpose, turns out he was just being a joker. I have a bunch of bumper stickers on the tailgait, one of them reads "Bad Cop No Doughnut ! on a badge shape ,,, He said Hmm I don't know, we might have to run this guy in now !
I could tell, or at least hoped, they were having a little fun, so I said hey, you guys aren't just cops, you are an elite border control unit ! He said elite ? hahahhhaaa, ok this guys ok let him go ! So it was a bit dicey at first but turned out ok, just quite a trip how an innocent wrong turn can put you half way to hell in the blink of an eye.
Still wasn't quite out of it, its really a chore to get out of there, traffic going there is meant to go over the bridge and that is it. So he says see that gray building over there, pointing to a gray building in the distance. I said yeah, he said Ok see that white truck by the building ? Just go there and they'll get you turned around. So I gingerly made my way through the maze towards the gray building and white truck [I figured if I made another wrong turn I'd run into tire spikes or something], saw a sign that said "Wait to be turned around here" so I figured this must be it.
Waited bout half an hour and I'm thinking WTF, are they toying with me or what ? finally a guy in an orange safety vest comes up and said what you need ? I said I need to get out, agents over there ripped apart my truck and interrogated me and let me go and told me to come here. He said ohh, Ok, got a slip ? I said what slip, they didn't give me anything. He said damn, they are supposed to give you a turnaround slip, I said well, they didn't.
So he says I'll be right back, so he went and talked to them and came back and motioned me to follow him, followed him to a gate which he opened and said see ya, this will take you to Fort St. I said adios. It was a maze even getting out of there, but only 1 way to go really.
As I drove down Grand blvd I saw where I turned in, and then I did see a sign that said "No re admittance to USA", but its easy enough not to see unless you happen to be looking up. I talked to a buddy of mine telling him about it and he said no **** ? Same exact thing happened to me last year, so I get the feeling there are dozens a day who wander into this snakes den by accident.
Not much to be done about it, rules are rules and of course they are very serious at large border crossings like this. Normally I believe LE requires a search warrant to search a vehicle, apparently y does not apply there, once you enter you are subject to complete search and seizure.
