Shadowing Practice: First Arrest On Flight Leads To Shocking Second Discovery | FULL EPISODE | Border Security America - Learn English Speaking with Video
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389 sentences
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1
A recent surge of drugs concealed in backpacks has officers on heightened alert.
2
This is all your stuff, right?
3
Yeah.
4
Did you pack this bag yourself?
5
Yeah.
6
Okay.
7
Most people are legitimate travelers.
8
We're looking for that one percentage.
9
That is not.
10
You never know until you stop and talk and look.
11
Okay.
12
Okay, thank you.
13
Now we're going to go meet the flight by the baggage carousel
14
and maybe we can get a second look at anybody that might look interesting over here.
15
Yeah, there's no weight.
16
Another officer spies a suspicious traveller from the same flight.
17
Follow me.
18
I saw a gentleman had a backpack.
19
Brought him to the baggage control area, searched the backpack.
20
I saw an unusual thickness on the side panels.
21
As soon as I probed it, a white powder substance was in a probe.
22
Where's home for you?
23
How long will you be in the States on this trip?
24
Any fresh fruits or vegetables in the car?
25
At Washington State's Peasarch border crossing.
26
Where do you live?
27
I live in Whitehorse, Yukon.
28
A Canadian heading south has been taken into secondary inspection to answer more questions.
29
I'm travelling for a friend.
30
I'm delivering a car to Quebec and I figured going through the States would be a bit quicker.
31
Whose vehicle is this?
32
He's a friend of mine, he lives in Dawson City.
33
He's stuck there for the winter and he wanted his car on the east coast.
34
So you're just like, I'll take it to you?
35
Yeah, I thought I'd give him a favor and it's kind of a win-win for the both of us.
36
What do you do for work?
37
I'm a carpenter in Whitehorse.
38
Seems fairly odd just to leave everything behind to just drop on the other side of the country, do somebody a favor.
39
So how are you getting back home?
40
That's the thing, I was just thinking about hitchhiking back.
41
We gotta look into it a little bit more and see what's going on and maybe he's not telling us something.
42
Do you happen to have anything that says it's okay for you to travel with this vehicle down here?
43
Every day, an estimated 12,000 vehicles line up at the Detroit Windsor Tunnel.
44
Where are you coming from?
45
You unlocked the back.
46
But some get in line by mistake.
47
We get people that get lost in Detroit and just zig when they should have zagged.
48
That happens a lot.
49
They don't realize they're going to Canada until the last second.
50
Like this American, whose clouded sense of direction has landed him in secondary inspection.
51
Just shut it off, all right?
52
There's a little U-turn area, and the driver never made entry into Canada.
53
Even if it's by accident, once a person attempts to exit the United States, they are subject to a search.
54
Any weapons of any kind in the vehicle?
55
No, no, no, I never did.
56
OK.
57
Are we on you?
58
No?
59
I asked you once if you had anything.
60
Is there anything you can know about?
61
The driver had a little bit of marijuana in his pockets.
62
I didn't know that was in there, I swear.
63
I had to put on my jeans when I left the house.
64
You guys are going down those stops right there, OK?
65
Right in that door?
66
Secondary or office?
67
Now, Customs and Border Protection officers have a budding concern for what else might be in the car.
68
The whole car smells like weed.
69
Every autumn, over a million international students come to the US to attend college.
70
So this is your first time to the US, right?
71
But if they fail this exam, they could be expelled.
72
What's the purpose of your trip today?
73
Why are you here?
74
In Detroit, officers pull aside a 19-year-old traveler from Switzerland.
75
I just walked through there.
76
This traveler was being referred due to the time of year.
77
We're having a lot of students.
78
This traveler was 19 years old, perfect age to possibly go to school here.
79
But he didn't have a student visa.
80
How much money are you traveling with today?
81
70 cash credit cards, okay.
82
So you said you just got done with high school?
83
Yes.
84
The traveler was very, very nervous, and we just needed to further investigate.
85
Are you going to be going to school while you're here?
86
No. What about at university, at college?
87
When does that start? That starts...
88
Doesn't that start...
89
January next year.
90
When the initial officer talked to you, they said, why are you coming to the U.S.?
91
Yes.
92
You said what?
93
Okay.
94
Were you totally honest with that, officer?
95
Not entirely.
96
At New York's JFK airport...
97
Did you pack this bag yourself?
98
A flight from the Caribbean has Customs and Border Protection officers on the alert for drugs concealed in backpacks.
99
Just follow me.
100
As soon as I probe it, I'll wipe out the puffs since it's in the probe.
101
I Took the passenger inside to a search room for further examination and also to test the white powdery substance.
102
That's from the backpack.
103
904s for cocaine.
104
And that's when it comes out positive.
105
We feel tested positive for cocaine.
106
The passenger is placed under arrest for alleged importation of narcotics into the United States.
107
The passenger was taken upstairs to HSI and for federal prosecution.
108
That leaves officers to assess the size of the stash.
109
Right now we're going to extract the packages of the backpack to get the final weight.
110
It's coming out, it's coming out.
111
When was the last time you were in the States?
112
At the Peace Arch land crossing on the border with Canada, a Canadian plans on driving his friend's car through the US.
113
Do you happen to have anything that says it's okay for you to travel with his vehicle down here?
114
Um, maybe we should get a hold of him or something.
115
Well that's something you should have done before.
116
Yeah, I know.
117
That's.. but...
118
Go ahead and fill that out first and we'll figure it out.
119
Yeah.
120
U.S street address, like destination.
121
Are you stopping anywhere in the U.S.?
122
Yeah.
123
If you give me, like, a map, I can come up with a street address, I guess, but...
124
Well, I don't want you to make something up.
125
Yeah, I just don't know right off the bat here.
126
I don't have it in mind.
127
Okay, just for now, I'll put Seattle, Washington, and then we'll get to the other part later.
128
Okay, that looks good.
129
Have you been arrested before?
130
Never?
131
I've had a speeding ticket once, does that count?
132
Did they put handcuffs on you until you were arrested?
133
No. Then you weren't arrested.
134
Is there any firearms, alcohol or tobacco in there?
135
No. Is there any prescription medications in there?
136
No. Any narcotics of any kind?
137
No. Any medicinal marijuana?
138
No. Creational?
139
No. Do you take full responsibility of everything inside that vehicle?
140
Yeah, some of the stuff is his.
141
I didn't look through it all, but I'm sure it's clean.
142
He signed off on the declaration saying I take full responsibility.
143
So since you are crossing the federal border, and you gotta know what you're traveling with, we'll look into it and see what we got.
144
At New York City's JFK International Mail Facility, the search for contraband has a canine component.
145
I'm in the canine unit with my dog, Bree, and what we're doing is looking for anything that might be of agriculture concern coming internationally into our country.
146
That one there, yeah?
147
Ooh, very nice, okay.
148
Let's take a look.
149
So, put a couple down on the floor here.
150
Let's go find it, okay?
151
Let's go find it.
152
Now, her hesitation means that there's something.
153
We've got two boxes here.
154
Brie, find it. Which one?
155
Which one is it?
156
Let's see, is it this one?
157
Is it this one?
158
Go back over there.
159
Okay, good.
160
So she sat in front of that one.
161
Let's open.
162
All right.
163
In this case, it says that it's manifested as books, and this particular parcel is coming from Israel.
164
So we're gonna take a look at what we got.
165
Wow! In Detroit...
166
You said you just got done with high school?
167
Yeah.
168
A young Swiss traveler arrives at the start of the school year, but claims he's only here for a two-month vacation.
169
I'm here to visit friends and go on a holiday.
170
OK.
171
Were you totally honest with that officer?
172
Not entirely.
173
It don't take a genius to figure out what's going on here.
174
You're nervous.
175
Yes.
176
You just got out of high school.
177
You're coming to the US for two months.
178
Yeah.
179
Right?
180
So what are you really here to come to do?
181
I'm here to intern.
182
Interned.
183
OK.
184
So why didn't you tell the officer that? Because I don't know.
185
Who are you interning with?
186
The same company that my dad worked for.
187
Who paid for your trip?
188
My parents.
189
Your parents did?
190
OK.
191
They know you're interning here?
192
Yes.
193
Did you bring resumes?
194
Did you bring certificates?
195
Did you bring anything like that for them?
196
No?
197
We just needed to further investigate if he was getting paid, et cetera.
198
Is it a paid internship?
199
No. It's not?
200
What are you going to be doing?
201
IT.
202
IT?
203
Is there someone in the US that currently does that position?
204
Well, there's a colleague, yeah.
205
I'd have to imagine with IT, there's really no...
206
Well, you...
207
Because it doesn't sound like...
208
I have to decommission computers.
209
It doesn't sound like you're gonna be looking over his shoulder.
210
It sounds like you're actually doing the work, to be quite honest.
211
Some of the work, yes.
212
Yeah, sure.
213
And he gets paid to do that, right?
214
Yes.
215
But you're not gonna get paid to do that.
216
No, it's just purely for work experience.
217
Okay.
218
40 hours a week, Monday through Friday.
219
No. 9 to 5, kind of a thing? a thing?
220
No, they were flexible in the time.
221
I have a hard time believing that they're not going to pay you, honestly.
222
It's very rare that I see people coming from another country to come here to work for free.
223
Did you discuss pay, yes or no?
224
At the Detroit Windsor Tunnel, an American pulled a U-turn to avoid accidentally heading into Canada.
225
That car smells like weed.
226
But now he's in secondary inspection and in trouble.
227
The driver had a little bit of marijuana in his pockets.
228
Although the traveler didn't leave the United States, he's still subject to a thorough search.
229
Yeah, if you can check underneath that seat all the way.
230
The car is clean, but that still leaves the marijuana found in the driver's pocket.
231
How much weed is that, Amar?
232
It's a really good gram.
233
Gram, are we seizing it?
234
Yeah.
235
It's a turnaround, isn't it?
236
Mm-hmm.
237
Cut him.
238
Come on up here.
239
OK, we are seizing the marijuana from here today.
240
There is no penalty, though, but we do have to seize it.
241
OK?
242
Because the driver never made entry into Canada, we're just going to seize the marijuana, but they're not going to be penalized for it.
243
Have a good day.
244
Yeah, thanks.
245
They really just got lost.
246
They should have turned right a little bit earlier.
247
At the International Mail Center in New York City...
248
Yeah, show me where.
249
...detector dog Bree has a reaction to something in this package from Israel.
250
All right.
251
This one?
252
Ooh!
253
Ooh, what is that?
254
Wow!
255
What we have here is we have a whole box of what we call cot.
256
Cot is something that we don't necessarily regulate in agriculture, but it is regulated for narcotics.
257
We'll bring it over to our narcotics division, and then they'll process it at that stage.
258
But Brie isn't done yet. Which one?
259
That one there?
260
You want to try it?
261
All right, let's see.
262
So we're going to open.
263
What's this?
264
Is it this parcel?
265
This parcel, what do we have?
266
Uh-oh.
267
Uh-oh!
268
In Detroit, a Swiss traveller claims he's here for unpaid work.
269
You have to intern.
270
Intern?
271
OK.
272
But if he intends to work without a permit, he could be hiking back to the Alps.
273
I have a hard time believing that they're not going to pay you.
274
Did you discuss pay, yes or no?
275
Yes.
276
OK, and how did that come up in conversation?
277
Well, they said, well, it's not a big deal if you need payment.
278
OK.
279
But I told them that I don't need any payment.
280
The officer attempts to contact the employer.
281
With no answer, he calls one of the traveller's relatives back in Switzerland.
282
What's the reason he's coming to the US?
283
What else is he going to be doing here?
284
I hope he's gonna have a good time.
285
He was dancing around the intern issue as well.
286
Let me ask you this, you don't know that he came to the United States to perform an internship here?
287
An internship?
288
He's gonna work, is that what you mean?
289
Oh, yeah, that's what I mean.
290
He's not really, he's not gonna have a paid offer.
291
Okay, it's unpaid.
292
It sounds as if it's an internship.
293
It's unpaid, yeah.
294
We never like to leave it in the hands of just one officer.
295
I like to involve as many people as I can.
296
I talked to another officer and a supervisor, and we really did analyze what exactly this traveler is coming to do.
297
As far as productive labor is concerned, he's not going to be taking a skilled worker's job.
298
It was strictly an internship.
299
He was going to be looking over someone's shoulder for the most part, and we're okay with that.
300
There's some things you can do in the US, there's some things you can't, there's some things that you need a visa for.
301
Yes.
302
What you're doing here is legal, there's no reason to lie about it.
303
I'm very relieved.
304
Very relieved.
305
Okay, thanks, man.
306
If he was not honest with me and he didn't fess up, he would have been returned to his country.
307
Lister 2-1, ground rod, you're advising waiting for taxes.
308
At JFK, a traveler arriving on a flight from the Caribbean is arrested for allegedly smuggling cocaine in a backpack.
309
Right now, we're going to extract the packages of the backpack to get the final weight.
310
It's coming out, it's coming out.
311
There you go.
312
There you go.
313
There you go, it's number two.
314
Easy one, right there.
315
Perfect. Is that it?
316
All right, make sure.
317
Ah, yeah, it's the same thing, look, you see?
318
Look, this is what they did, they put coffee.
319
That's probably what they think it is, they go to a mess and smell cocaine.
320
Yeah.
321
All right, cool.
322
Total weight of cocaine that was found in the backpack was 1.942 kilograms.
323
Okay.
324
In the baggage area, passengers from the same flight are now under increased scrutiny.
325
Bill.
326
It's cardboard.
327
It's just cardboard.
328
Very thick.
329
No. Okay, I'll get on.
330
Excuse me.
331
Hi, man, I see your documents.
332
I noticed one of the passengers seemed nervous and I just stopped him for a routine inspection.
333
Can I see your backpack please?
334
When I opened the backpack, I noticed one of the panels fell fake.
335
Right now I'm going to bring the traveller and the backpack to a private area.
336
I'm going to cut the bag to make sure nothing is in there.
337
At the Pisach border crossing in Washington state, a Canadian wants to enter the US in a borrowed car, but isn't entirely sure what's in it.
338
I didn't look through it all, but I'm sure it's clear.
339
across the federal border, and you got to know what you're traveling with.
340
So we'll look into it and see what we got.
341
He's really just dropping it off for his friend now.
342
That's nice of him, but unfortunately, he just can't take everyone's word for it all the time, so...
343
In this case, the car is clean.
344
Everything checks out, nothing out of the ordinary.
345
He'll be on his way.
346
It's nice of what you're doing, but for the future when you're crossing, I know with this picture ID saying so-and-so is going to be travelling with my vehicle, dropping it off up here.
347
Absolutely, yeah.
348
It might have been tricky for them to understand exactly what I was doing with this vehicle exactly, so next time I'll have all the papers ready.
349
Perfect.
350
Thanks a lot.
351
At the JFK Mail Facility in New York City...
352
That one there?
353
Do you want to try it?
354
You want to try it?
355
Detected dog Bree has her paws on a parcel.
356
What do we have?
357
Uh-oh, uh-oh.
358
Good girl.
359
So what we have here is...
360
There's a lot here.
361
A lot of beef product.
362
Certain countries may carry mad cow disease and foot and mouth disease.
363
Since it's non-commercial and no label, we would have to take the most restrictive action, and we would have to seize that product and destroy it.
364
What is that?
365
On a regular day, we might find 12 to 20 parcels, agriculturally of concern, that we would be doing seizures for and destroying.
366
Hi, good girl.
367
Inside the terminal...
368
It's right there.
369
Officers see a backpack stuffed with cocaine, and the alleged drug carrier is arrested.
370
Total weight of cocaine was 1.942 kilograms.
371
Excuse me. And now...
372
Can I see your backpack please?
373
An officer is suspicious of another traveler's backpack from the same flight.
374
When I opened the backpack, I noticed one of the panels fell thick.
375
I'm going to bring the traveler and the backpack to a private area.
376
I'm going to cut the bag to make sure nothing is in there.
377
She noticed it, how unusually thick, she cut open.
378
That's what came out.
379
Backpack contain a package.
380
We take bodily substance, which tests for cocaine.
381
We're going to place the passenger on the arrest for the importation of narcotics.
382
It's the second arrest from this same flight.
383
We're using one of the panels.
384
This one panel of the backpack, another panel.
385
We have a total of over five pounds of cocaine It was in different panels, concealed with plastic and foam,
386
and we turned it over to the special agency.
387
We got two arrests.
388
We got two people that are traveling totally different, but they have the same concealment methods.
389
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “First Arrest On Flight Leads To Shocking Second Discovery”. This video has 389 sentences and 3087 words to shadow. The speech runs for 19:01. The speaker talks at a natural 162 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 83% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 102 of its 389 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| backpack noun | /ˈbæk.pæk/ | A knapsack, sometimes mounted on a light frame, but always supported by straps, worn on a person’s back for the purpose of carrying things, especially when… |
| traveller noun | /ˈtɹævəlɚ/ | One who travels, especially to distant lands. |
| cocaine noun | /koʊˈkeɪn/ | An addictive drug derived from coca (Erythroxylum) or prepared synthetically, used sometimes medicinally as a local anesthetic and, often illegally, as a… |
| intern noun | /ˈɪntɝn/ | A student or recent graduate who works in order to gain experience in their chosen field. |
| marijuana noun | /ˌmɛɹɪˈwɑ.nə/ | The inflorescence of the Cannabis sativa plant, smoked or ingested for euphoric effect. |
| narcotic noun | /nɑːˈkɒtɪk/ | Any substance or drug that reduces pain, induces sleep and may alter mood or behaviour; in some contexts, especially in reference to the opiates-and-opioids… |
| internship noun | /ˈɪntɜːnʃɪp/ | A job taken by a student in order to learn a profession or trade. |
| parcel noun | /ˈpɑɹsəl/ | A package wrapped, as for shipment or transport. |
| seize verb | /ˈsiːz/ | To deliberately take hold of; to grab or capture. |
| probe noun | /pɹoʊb/ | Any of various medical instruments used to explore wounds, organs, etc. |
| inspection noun | /ɪnˈspɛkʃən/ | The act of examining something, often closely. |
| conceal verb | /kənˈsil/ | To hide something from view or from public knowledge, to try to keep something secret. |
| unpaid adjective | /ʌnˈpeɪd/ | Not paid for. |
| substance noun | /ˈsʌbstəns/ | Physical matter; material. |
| weed noun | /wiːd/ | Any plant unwanted at the place where and at the time when it is growing. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| look over verb | To check quickly; to make a brief or cursory visual inspection of. | |
| look through verb | To take a view of the contents of; search in, either with the eyes or by hand. | |
| check out verb | To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.). | |
| come up with verb | To manage to produce, deliver, or present (something) by inventing, creating, thinking of, or obtaining it. | |
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. | |
| get back verb | Return to where one came from. | |
| get out of verb | To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- What's the purpose of your trip today?
- I've had a speeding ticket once, does that count?
- Let's see, is it this one?
- They know you're interning here?
- He's gonna work, is that what you mean?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | has been taken · could be expelled · being referred |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has been taken · has landed · Have you been arrested |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | might look · might be · might have |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | was just thinking · was being · was dancing |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 92 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, I'm, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: thickness /ˈθɪknəs/, thorough /ˈθʌɹoʊ/, underneath /ˌʌndɚˈniθ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: internship /ˈɪntɜːnʃɪp/, inspection /ɪnˈspɛkʃən/, suspicious /səˈspɪʃ.əs/, examination /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/, decommission /diːkəˈmɪʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: marijuana /ˌmɛɹɪˈwɑ.nə/, examination /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/, investigate /ɪnˈvɛs.tə.ɡeɪt/, decommission /diːkəˈmɪʃən/, medicinal /məˈdɪ.sɪ.nəl/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like backpack, traveller, cocaine.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.