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'Shadow Wolves' track drug smugglers the native American way

An elite team hunts drug traffickers in the Southwest using generations-old techniques.

from the July 5, 2007 edition

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To be on the team, members must be at least 25 percent native American. Ortega is one of two Shadow Wolves from the Tohono O'odham tribe. He speaks the language and is well-respected on the reservation. He was a policeman there for four years before becoming a Shadow Wolf in 1998.

A strapping young man, he is tense as he focuses on the footprints beside him. "These are probably just illegals crossing," Ortega says, as he points to what look like three distinct sets of footprints. He thinks the group probably trekked north across this wash around 6 a.m. on this day because their footprints overlay hoof marks made earlier in the morning by nomadic cows. The cattle, Ortega points out, come for water at a nearby hole twice a day – once at sunup and again at sundown. "We use everything like that to our advantage," he says.

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."

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