Pale Rider
06-23-2007, 03:56 AM
Illegals Being Given Red Bull, Ephedrine
Smugglers tell them it will give them the 'stamina' for dash across brush country
By Jim Forsyth
Friday, June 22, 2007
U.S. Border Patrol agents say illegal immigrants are being given a potentially deadly cocktail of energy-generating items in hopes of speeding up their mad dash into the country, but agents are worried that the items may be increasing dehydration and leading to death in the baking hot brush country, 1200 WOAI news reports today.
"They're giving them what we call a 'triple stacker'," Border Patrol agent Jesus Rodriguez says. "That consists of an ephedrine-type bill, along with an aspirin, along with making them drink Red Bull."
Red Bull is an energy drink, which promotes itself as 'specially developed for times of increased mental and physical exertion.' It claims to 'increase endurance, concentration, and reaction speed.'
It works similar to the 'jolt' people get from coffee, through doses of caffeine and an amino acid called 'taurine.'
Ephedrine is a stimulant commonly used in weight loss products.
"They're getting a triple dose of caffeine, and that really exacerbates the dehydration process as they're walking across the desert," Rodriguez said.
"What it does, is it just dehydrates them that much faster, because most of them carry just one gallon of water."
Border Patrol officials tell 1200 WOAI news that smugglers will routinely lie about the conditions and distances illegal immigrants will face in the southwestern U.S., frequently telling them that destination cities like San Antonio, Tucson, and Houston are 'just a day's walk' from the points beyond the checkpoints where smugglers frequently unload their human cargoes. They also tell them that conditions don't require much water, letting the immigrants travel more lightly and allowing the smugglers to cram more of them into a vehicle and make more money.
"The combination of the triple stacker, the lack of good water, and the heat is a bad combination for them," Rodriguez said. "You can go from rescues to dying out in the desert."
Dehydration in the Arizona desert or in the arid Texas brush country are the major reasons for illegals dying as they try to sneak into the U.S., officials say.
http://radio.woai.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=119078&article=2302185
Smugglers tell them it will give them the 'stamina' for dash across brush country
By Jim Forsyth
Friday, June 22, 2007
U.S. Border Patrol agents say illegal immigrants are being given a potentially deadly cocktail of energy-generating items in hopes of speeding up their mad dash into the country, but agents are worried that the items may be increasing dehydration and leading to death in the baking hot brush country, 1200 WOAI news reports today.
"They're giving them what we call a 'triple stacker'," Border Patrol agent Jesus Rodriguez says. "That consists of an ephedrine-type bill, along with an aspirin, along with making them drink Red Bull."
Red Bull is an energy drink, which promotes itself as 'specially developed for times of increased mental and physical exertion.' It claims to 'increase endurance, concentration, and reaction speed.'
It works similar to the 'jolt' people get from coffee, through doses of caffeine and an amino acid called 'taurine.'
Ephedrine is a stimulant commonly used in weight loss products.
"They're getting a triple dose of caffeine, and that really exacerbates the dehydration process as they're walking across the desert," Rodriguez said.
"What it does, is it just dehydrates them that much faster, because most of them carry just one gallon of water."
Border Patrol officials tell 1200 WOAI news that smugglers will routinely lie about the conditions and distances illegal immigrants will face in the southwestern U.S., frequently telling them that destination cities like San Antonio, Tucson, and Houston are 'just a day's walk' from the points beyond the checkpoints where smugglers frequently unload their human cargoes. They also tell them that conditions don't require much water, letting the immigrants travel more lightly and allowing the smugglers to cram more of them into a vehicle and make more money.
"The combination of the triple stacker, the lack of good water, and the heat is a bad combination for them," Rodriguez said. "You can go from rescues to dying out in the desert."
Dehydration in the Arizona desert or in the arid Texas brush country are the major reasons for illegals dying as they try to sneak into the U.S., officials say.
http://radio.woai.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=119078&article=2302185