'Shadow Wolves' track drug smugglers the native American way

Ortega follows the tracks back south, through heavy patches of jumping cholla and spindly trees. The tracks are more pronounced where mesquite trees provide shade from the searing sun. Ortega compares the depth and shadows of the tracks here with others he'd come across that were probably at least three days old.

Those were fainter and smoother. The newer tracks, he notes, have darker areas where the traveler has kicked up soil beneath the surface that hasn't yet been dried out or bleached by the sun. Nor has the ever-present wind here, always generating dust devils, leveled the ridged patterns made by the soles of the traveler's shoes.

Ortega marches alongside the prints, matching one set step for step. By doing so, he can gauge how fast the travelers are moving. He can also tell if they are carrying a load. He demonstrates by comparing his prints to those of the traveler. The average "mule" apprehended weighs about 150 pounds. Ortega weighs a little more than 200 pounds. If the toe print of the smuggler is deeper than his, it suggests the traveler is bearing a heavy pack.

It turns out the toes aren't digging in. And the cacti surrounding the prints haven't snagged bits of burlap – the wrap for bales of marijuana. Moreover, he notes, the travelers didn't try to conceal their prints as they crossed the road, as drug smugglers often do – sometimes wrapping their sneakers in carpet to confuse the Shadow Wolves. The signs tell him these are just illegal immigrants – nine men and two women – making their way to the US.

Ortega reports the crossings to the US Customs and Border Patrol, which is responsible for apprehending illegal immigrants. Then, he goes back to looking for more signs of smugglers.

The Shadow Wolves work every day, in shifts at night and during the day, and travel the old back roads of the reservation. Had these footprints belonged to drug smugglers, Ortega would have called in other members of the team. When they find a sign, they work as a pack, which is how they got their name. One will leapfrog two miles ahead on a set of prints and another two miles in front of that until they catch their "prey."

The Shadow Wolves haven't been involved in any violent confrontations. Mainly it's a "friendly man's game," Ortega says. But it is becoming more dangerous. In fact, drug cartels in Mexico know how effective the Shadow Wolves have become and have issued death threats against them. But because of the remoteness of this area, and the money involved, they continue to send contraband across the reservation.

Many of the vehicles the Shadow Wolves find abandoned on tribal lands are equipped with snap-on tarps to hide them from aircraft, cut-off switches for the lights, and night-vision equipment. The smugglers are frequently armed with military-style automatic weapons.

The Shadow Wolves are finding on average 250 SUVs per month, vehicles that have been stolen in the Phoenix area and used to pick up the drugs that have been stashed throughout the reservation. They're often hidden in the houses of tribal members, and the smugglers increasingly pay young people here to work as guides.

Most of the smugglers the Shadow Wolves catch are bit players in the drug trade – "mules" hired by the cartels to ferry the contraband across the reservation. Still, five ICE agents are assigned to work with the Shadow Wolves, and take over the investigations after an apprehension has been made. "They try to take it to the next tier of the organization with the ultimate goal to dismantle the network," says Ortega.

Then, for the native American trackers, it's back to another set of footprints, in hopes of fulfilling their official motto: In brightest Day, In Darkest Night, No Evil Shall Escape My Sight, For I am the Shadow Wolves.

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