
Forbidden Cargo 54xxxx 04 Running Wetbacks
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Styles MacKenzie
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Narrator
By ship, by plane, by road, by human carriers. Goods are smuggled dangerously out of one country into another. Goods which are forbidden cargo. Revealing the inside story of running wetnikes.
Captain Mason
If anyone gets out of that plane crash, then I resign my coast Guard captaincy.
Lieutenant
Yeah, coast guards will be one lieutenant less too.
Captain Mason
Those fire card boys sure got nerve. Hey, look at the crazy guys in asbestos suits walking slap into the flames.
Lieutenant
Makes you wonder what hell's like, don't it, Captain?
Captain Mason
Well, that's a sample then. I'm buying myself a new halo and harp. Look at him, will you? Look right into the flames.
Lieutenant
The foam's starting to take a fake.
Captain Mason
It's like pouring water on a barbecue after the steak's cooked. For all the good it'll do us.
Lieutenant
That pilot would crash his crate this time just when he got a line on him.
Captain Mason
Holy saints. Gas tanks blew up the poor devils. Well, Lieutenant Mason, there's the funeral pyre of three months investigation.
Lieutenant
Yeah, that pilot, Hal Barrowby, the first strong lead we get to the big shot behind smuggling and illegal immigrants.
Max Kroger
These.
Lieutenant
These wetbacks.
Vince Foley
And what happens?
Lieutenant
Cremates himself.
Captain Mason
Along with at least 10 poor suckers who've paid some $2,000 each to be run into the States and Cuba. Mason, it makes me sick in the stomach.
Lieutenant
What's that, Captain? This smuggler ain't a wetbacks.
Captain Mason
No, not exactly. It's more the fact that those poor guys brown to a crisp in that burning plane. Pedro 2000 before say there were 10.
Lieutenant
Of them in it.
Captain Mason
That's $20,000. The brain behind this smuggling ring collects. He gets what he wants the dough. But do those dead guys in there get what they want? Killed right at the end of the journey.
Vince Foley
Yeah.
Captain Mason
It's no good waiting around here. Let's get back to headquarters. Start all over.
Lieutenant
Yeah.
Leela Foley
Mr. Kroger? Mr. Max Kroger?
Max Kroger
Yeah. Mrs. Folly, please enter.
Leela Foley
Uh huh.
Max Kroger
Please relax. You'll find that the van most comfortable. Drink my best imported whiskey.
Leela Foley
I would like one a straight, thanks.
Max Kroger
I admire beautiful women who prefer not to spoil an enjoyment of Life.
Leela Foley
You wanted to see me?
Max Kroger
And so direct too.
Leela Foley
If we're to have any business dealings, you'll find that's the way I work.
Max Kroger
You grow more enchanting. Your drink, Mrs. Felipe.
Leela Foley
I react faster when I'm called Leela.
Max Kroger
And I react when one such as you calls me Max.
Leela Foley
Let's see your reaction. Why am I here, Max?
Max Kroger
No doubt you have heard of the unfortunate crash at the Key West Airport yesterday.
Leela Foley
Ten passengers and the pilot incinerated.
Max Kroger
The pilot, Halberdy, was an employee of nine. The 10 passengers. The Macago.
Leela Foley
Wet, Max.
Max Kroger
All that redbacks.
Leela Foley
Good enough for people smuggled illegally into our country.
Max Kroger
Such people not new to you, Max.
Leela Foley
As soon as I got word you wanted to see me instead of my husband Vince, I knew why. So let's stop this polite yakety yak, shall we? Yesterday, when that plane crashed, you lost one of your means of smuggling people into this country. And the fact that it crashed makes sure it'll be probed by the authorities. The aviation boys, customs, coast guards, maybe even the FBI. You're not a moron. You're a clever man. You realize the crash will make the authorities start going over all the other airplanes with the curry combs. So what do you do? You decide to stop running in wetbacks from Cuba by air and start running them in by sea? You know my husband Vince and his partner Jerry Bain operate a deep sea fishing boat. You've heard that. I persuaded them to supplement our income by making a few runs ourselves. That's why I'm here. You want to make me a proposition. A business proposition.
Max Kroger
You know, Diva, I like you.
Leela Foley
I said a business proposition.
Max Kroger
$500 per headphones delivery.
Leela Foley
Thanks for the drink. So long.
Max Kroger
Sit down.
Leela Foley
Not interested. We get 2000.
Max Kroger
When you can get them, we manage. Sit down.
Leela Foley
Nice meeting you.
Max Kroger
7.50.
Captain Mason
Wait.
Leela Foley
Yeah.
Max Kroger
Your boats have been a caddy, Twitter.
Leela Foley
Uh huh.
Max Kroger
You've been lucky. If you've made one run every two months, I'm satisfied. I can guarantee you a full Cargo Every week.
Leela Foley
12 bodies every week, huh?
Max Kroger
With everything organized for you? Everything arranged to perfection. Time of departure? Cargo waiting at rendezvous, destination, descent. You have nothing to do but run your boat to schedule the coast guards. I have means of knowing their every movement.
Leela Foley
But suppose for once your information's wrong.
Max Kroger
Naturally, you have my permission to jettison the Archangel. Provided precautions are taken to ensure none swim ashore.
Leela Foley
$1,000 per head.
Max Kroger
You are beautiful, you are seductive. But your heart, it is hard.
Leela Foley
My business heart. So, 1,000 per head. $12,000 cash. Per run.
Max Kroger
And if I think your price is.
Leela Foley
Too high, I can get what I want elsewhere.
Max Kroger
I pay.
Leela Foley
You won't regret it.
Vince Foley
No.
Max Kroger
I have that hatred, I think.
Leela Foley
When and where do we make our.
Max Kroger
First run so direct? I have received from my Havana agent for three nights from now.
Leela Foley
And then he said he'd received word from his Havana agent that our first cargo will be waiting three nights from now inside this little bay here.
Vince Foley
Mm.
Leela Foley
Kroger marked it on the map. Five miles down the coast from Mariano 12 Wetbeck, $1,000 a head. How does that sound to you, Vince? What?
Vince Foley
We gotta worry about this guy. Kroger's behind it, kid. You can take it from me. It's sweet. Along the waterfront. His name's tops when it comes to this kind of racket. You agree, Jerry?
Narrator
Yeah, sure. So far he's kept clear of the law boys. Run a week, 12,000. That's big dope, pal.
Leela Foley
Okay, then it's agreed. We tie in with Kruger.
Vince Foley
Yeah. One thing, kid. The coast guards, you know how they watch us deep sea boats. Always stopping us to see if we're carrying a port clearance.
Leela Foley
Max showed me a stack of them this high.
Vince Foley
So it's Max, huh?
Leela Foley
Oh, don't be a complete fool, Vince. You're my man, you know that?
Captain Mason
You keep it that way.
Leela Foley
Any reason why you're talking crazy talk?
Vince Foley
I once promised you I'd never lay a finger on you in anger.
Max Kroger
No matter what you did.
Leela Foley
Jerry, what have you been doing to my man?
Narrator
I'm a bachelor. I'm strictly out of this.
Captain Mason
Sure, sure, sure.
Vince Foley
I'm sorry, kid. It's just that I've heard of this Max Kroger and women. And I'm still crazy about you.
Narrator
Look, how's about we get back to business, huh?
Leela Foley
Fine. Now listen. He figures we haven't anything to crease our brows about on the Cuban end. We make the bay dead on time. 3:00am we approach from the eastern side. Wait for a three light flash signal, note its position, then move in dead slow. A boat will come out to meet us. Transfer the wetbacks, we head back out to sea.
Narrator
250 mile run both ways. 500 total average, 15 knots round trip, 35 hours all towed. That's what this Kroger's schedule? Oh, it's candy from kids. We should have tied him with a guy years ago.
Vince Foley
Okay, I got the pickup straight. But what about unloading this end?
Leela Foley
Pine Island?
Captain Mason
What?
Narrator
Pine Island's nothing but swamps and a half tumbled down joint. On Pine island. One of them mansions deserted Since Abram Lincoln wore knee pants.
Leela Foley
Uh huh. That's why he uses it. Nobody ever goes anywhere near it. But we unload our Cuban boys on Pine Island.
Vince Foley
What happens to them then?
Leela Foley
Should we care? I got the idea that they shack up in the old house till called for by relatives or friends.
Narrator
A cunning brain.
Leela Foley
He's clever. No risks of landing them on mainshore. He contracts to smuggle them onto American soil. Pine Island's that from then on. It's none of his business.
Vince Foley
Okay. We sail Monday at dawn. Dump the wetbacks on Pine island around midnight Wednesday, huh?
Leela Foley
That's my agreement.
Vince Foley
Yeah.
Captain Mason
So say, what about weather reports?
Vince Foley
Summer's just come on us and that means a lot of sudden storms.
Leela Foley
Max Kroger supplies last minute weather reports before each trip.
Narrator
Say, that guy just don't miss a trick.
Captain Mason
No, not one kid this summer.
Vince Foley
Hot weather. You know how it makes you sick, the heat and all. You're not planning to do the trips.
Captain Mason
With us, are you?
Leela Foley
I am until it starts hitting the hundred in the shade.
Narrator
Mark hundred. From what the Met boys are saying, it's going to push up to 110 on the coast, 120 inland.
Leela Foley
Don't say it, Jerry.
Vince Foley
No. Watch your big mouth, fella. You seen what the heat does to my wife?
Narrator
Okay, okay. Don't bust your pot.
Leela Foley
We should get at least six trips in before I go for the ice packs. So let's start worrying them right now. You boys have got to get the boat ready. We leave Monday next at dawn. Jerry, that extra gas tank in the stern, make sure it's working.
Captain Mason
Hey, Ma Mason, hand me the night glasses. By Judas, it's the same boat again. Vince Foley's captain. Yeah, Vince Foley and Jerry Bain, owner. But Vince Foley's wife. That's the third time we've sighted a prowling near Pine Islands.
Lieutenant
Third time in six weeks. We take a close look, Captain.
Captain Mason
Close look. Lieutenant, we're gonna board her tonight. Get this rust bucket moving.
Leela Foley
Hurry up. It is a Coast Guard patrol. Got them all up on deck.
Narrator
Yeah, not all. Out cold. All 12 of them. I banged them over the melon with a spanner. I've let the sinkers for their feet.
Vince Foley
Leela. Must we? Must we toss them all over the side.
Leela Foley
Max gave strict orders. If we cite trouble, we've got the jettison cargo. Coast Guards have seen us. All right, get that cargo over the side. Hurry. I'll take the wheel.
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Captain Mason
Come on. Come on, Mason. You can do better than this.
Lieutenant
She's fat for the boards, Captain. Give her any more revs and the engines will blow up.
Captain Mason
But they're drawn away.
Lieutenant
That Foley must have souped up his boat lately. She could never hit that speed before.
Captain Mason
Oh, blast the Hades are back.
Lieutenant
Radio other boats to converge on this area.
Vince Foley
Yeah.
Captain Mason
By the time they get here, fully be home and hosed.
Lieutenant
What'll we do? Let him play tag with the other boats while we head for his anchorage.
Captain Mason
All right. Yeah, yeah, do that. And go over his boat from stem to stern. And if we find even a whisker of his cargo, then he'll wish he'd never been spawned. Head for his anchorage.
Narrator
Sure.
Lieutenant
Captain.
Max Kroger
Unfortunate, my dear Beaver.
Leela Foley
We couldn't do anything else. Max, the moment we sighted that Coast Guard boat hanging around, I could smell trouble.
Max Kroger
You did the right thing. Get us in the cargo. But when should we vary ourselves, eh? The 12 unfortunates have paid their money before they sailed, yes? Certain there are no survivors?
Leela Foley
The moment I saw the coast guards, I ordered Jerry Bay to carry out the agreed plan. We had time to wire lead sinkers on the whole 12.
Max Kroger
Good, good. Now tell me again what happened when you found Archer and Mission waiting for you at your anchorage?
Leela Foley
We welcomed them aboard. They wanted to know why we'd made a run for it when we sighted them. I said we had an exceptionally lucky haul of lobsters, a valuable cargo, and thought that their boat was another fisherman who figured on boarding us and hijacking our catch.
Max Kroger
And you did have lobsters?
Leela Foley
Evolved crates packed to the masthead. Soon as we left the Coast Guard behind, we doubled back to Cocoa island, picked up the lobsters ready there for just such an eventuality. I told you my idea would pay off one Night.
Max Kroger
Brilliant magic. I congratulate you.
Leela Foley
Thanks. Maxie.
Max Kroger
Let me make a suggestion.
Leela Foley
You don't have to. I can see it in your eyes.
Max Kroger
About future run.
Leela Foley
Yeah.
Max Kroger
Postpone operations for run on. Allow the Coast Guard's time to cool off.
Leela Foley
Cool off? I only wish to heaven I could do the same. Max, this he. It's starting to kill me. It's all right at night when the sea breeze comes up at the date 112 this afternoon. I don't think I'd live through it.
Max Kroger
What you need, my darling, is a little vacation where it's cooler. I happen to have a secluded cabin on the Flint river up over in Georgia. I'm due for a vacation myself. And Vince, husbands are not my concern.
Leela Foley
I've got to get away from this heat.
Max Kroger
It is always cool at this time of year on the river.
Leela Foley
What do I say to Fence? He'll want to come too.
Max Kroger
Perhaps I could arrange for him to make a long run across to Haiti.
Leela Foley
You said suspend operations for a month.
Max Kroger
He makes the run, he gets to Haiti, Finds there's been a misunderstanding. No cargo waiting takes at least a week. He'd be away for two weeks, all for nothing.
Leela Foley
Do you think he'd fall for it?
Max Kroger
You, my darling, can talk him into anything. Or can you?
Leela Foley
Yes. Tell me more, Maxie. Tell me about your cabin. What it looks like, what it's like on the river.
Lieutenant
Gary.
Narrator
Yeah, Vince? What's the be seeing Leila? She's not back yet. Well, I didn't know that she's not back. Well, I know she goes to report.
Vince Foley
To Kroger three hours ago. Jerry, Leila's been away too long. I'm heading around to Kroger's joint to see what's happened.
Narrator
Okay. She drove the sports jet.
Vince Foley
Ah, Jeep will get me there. You stick around.
Narrator
Hey, what do I do if them coast guards start up snooping again?
Lieutenant
Keep your mouth shut.
Narrator
Keep your mouth shut, the creep says. Who's he figure he is?
Lieutenant
Ah, forget it, Captain. So they figured we were hijackers wanting their cargo, so they gave us a runaround. We searched Foley's boat through with everything but a Geiger, didn't we? And what did we find? Lobsters.
Captain Mason
Yeah, lobster crates. Below deck, topside. All over yet? Mason, when I sighted the boat through the night Glasses. I'm prepared to swear there wasn't one crate pot of bucks anywhere on deck.
Lieutenant
But Captain Archer, you know how tricky things can be at night. Tricking up to fool a cartload of cats.
Captain Mason
Mason, they could have had that cargo Hidden somewhere. Loaded it fast.
Lieutenant
All right, but what do they do with the wet banks?
Captain Mason
Toss the poor devils over the side.
Lieutenant
But that'll be murder.
Captain Mason
Cold blooded murder. Since when have smugglers stopped at murder to avoid capture?
Lieutenant
Yeah, get what you mean, Captain. Say they did. Then what happened to the bodies? They got an awful habit of floating to the surface.
Captain Mason
But not if they're wearing cement boots or lead sinkers. See Lieutenant Mason. Get in touch with salvage headquarters. Tell them I want a couple of divers sent over. Divers who are familiar with the water around Pine island area. I've got a hunch they'll find more than seaweed on the bottom.
Lieutenant
Right away, sir.
Captain Mason
I'll give that Vince Foley and his wife lobsters. Mason. Mason. Captain Mason. I win the Oscar for being the year's prized oak. You take second prize for. For what? Lobsters. Listen, since when have lobsters been caught this time of the year?
Lieutenant
Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle.
Leela Foley
Mason.
Captain Mason
Get cracking. Get those divers over here. Tell them to snap into. Max, why don't you kill that phone oversight, my dear.
Max Kroger
Pardon me. What is it? Speaking. Yes, sir. There the customs and FBI journey in. Very well, ring off.
Leela Foley
What was that about? Divers. Customs.
Max Kroger
One of my. One of my most reliable informers. Reporting that Coast Guard divers are moving into Pine island area. The area where you jettisoned your cargo.
Leela Foley
Pine Island?
Captain Mason
Yes.
Max Kroger
Now listen carefully, my dear. Get your husband Vince and Jerry Bain. Drive fast to Mexico.
Leela Foley
And all this heat. I heard it kill me. We'll go by plane.
Max Kroger
Us? I order go by car. All airports and shipping will be watched. We're not only up against the coast guards, but customs, FBI and the immigration authorities. By car you can avoid all main highways. Take the side roads through the deserts.
Leela Foley
Deserts?
Max Kroger
Don't argue though. As I say, you must be out of Florida on your way before they find those bodies.
Leela Foley
But, darling, what about you? You know how I feel.
Max Kroger
I'll join you in Tampico a week from today at the Honduras Hotel.
Leela Foley
And Vince.
Max Kroger
Jerry, I forget to suggest it. Haiti Run. But see that you are alone. Understand, my dear?
Leela Foley
I understand. Max. Give me something to keep me alive through this awful heat.
Vince Foley
Hello, kid. Vince, I've been waiting.
Leela Foley
So what? Let's go.
Vince Foley
There's trouble, kid. Max Kroger always leaves you blind up on a hot night like this.
Leela Foley
Vince, they're bringing divers over to near Pine Island. We got to get clear fast to Mexico tonight. Vince, you hear me?
Vince Foley
Sweat, kid. Remember what I've always said? Remember what I promised?
Leela Foley
What?
Vince Foley
That I'd Never lay a finger on you in anger, no matter what you did.
Leela Foley
Vince, we've got to clear out.
Vince Foley
Okay, kid. You drive this raw. And I left the Jeep parked a little way back.
Leela Foley
Then go get it. We'll get back at the apartment.
Lieutenant
Captain Archer. What is it?
Max Kroger
Luke James, driver.
Lieutenant
Jordan reports tin bodies, lead sinkers wired to their ankles.
Captain Mason
Poor suckers Cubans couldn't see after five.
Lieutenant
Days on the bottom of the sea. You know how it is, Captain.
Captain Mason
Yeah, I know how it is. Five days and the FBI let those three dirty rats slip through their fingers.
Lieutenant
Diver Jordan wants further orders, sir.
Narrator
Further orders?
Lieutenant
Yes, Captain.
Captain Mason
Tell them we'll send them down wire cutters, baskets and detail the other divers to help them.
Leela Foley
This heat, this heat, it's like an awful oven.
Vince Foley
Stick with it, kid. Stick with it.
Leela Foley
Why'd you have to make this detour? Ride out into the desert?
Vince Foley
You know what Koga said. Keep away from me highways.
Leela Foley
Oh, if only Jerry hadn't insisted on dropping off back at Austin. He could have taken the wheel for spell. I'm too sick to help you, Vince.
Vince Foley
I'm okay, baby.
Leela Foley
Vince, what's the matter with you? You've been acting like a sulky creep ever since.
Vince Foley
Ever since that night I waited for you outside Kroger's house.
Leela Foley
All right, all right. Forget it.
Max Kroger
You brought it up, kid.
Leela Foley
I didn't bless that Coast Guard boat. If we hadn't run into it that night, we'd still be making $12,000 a week.
Vince Foley
8,000, kid. Four to Jerry. Three way split. Remember?
Leela Foley
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, the hate. For the love of heaven, Vince, can't we get out of this desert?
Vince Foley
Take a look at the map. See how far it's to go. No, that.
Leela Foley
I know. I know. What's the name of this track again?
Vince Foley
Laredo. It forked to the left after San Antonio.
Leela Foley
Left. Listen, we took the right.
Captain Mason
What?
Leela Foley
We took the right. The right, the right. We should have taken the left. Stop the car. Turn round. Stop the car, Vince. Turn around. Turn it round, boys. Is he.
Vince Foley
Listen, kid, track's mighty narrow. If I run off it, the wheels will bog down in the sand. You. You get out and direct me.
Leela Foley
Get out. I'll die out there in the sun.
Captain Mason
I don't have to, kid.
Vince Foley
It's my only chance of turning the car.
Leela Foley
Oh, right. All right, start turning. Start turning. All right. Your eyes out. Vince. Vince, I'm not in the car yet. Vince, I'm not in the car.
Vince Foley
I know, kid.
Leela Foley
Vince. What are you doing? Ben.
Vince Foley
I'm keeping my promise to you, kid. I saw you with Kroger. My promise never to lay a finger on you in anger. No matter what you did.
Captain Mason
This is Archer Kep and Florida Coast Guards. You've heard. One of the many ways in which illegal citizens are smuggled into the United States. Smuggled by people with only one thought. Easy money, personal profit. Nothing else counts. We eventually caught up with Vince Foley and Jerry Bain and Max Kroger, the organizing brain. Jerry and Kroger are serving five years as convicted smugglers. Vince Foley, life. We found his wife's remains in the desert. So the battle goes on. Coast Guards, Customs, Immigration, the FBI. Against those who persist in smuggling forbidden cargo.
Narrator
The story you have heard is factual. Names have been changed to protect the identities of those concerned. Listen again for another expose of those who deal in forbidden cargo.
Leela Foley
That.
Podcast Summary: "Forbidden Cargo 54xxxx 04 Running Wetbacks"
Harold's Old Time Radio delves into the perilous world of illegal immigration smuggling in the United States during its Golden Age. In the episode titled "Forbidden Cargo 54xxxx 04 Running Wetbacks," listeners are taken on a gripping journey that highlights the dangers and moral dilemmas faced by both smugglers and law enforcement.
The episode opens with a brief interruption by Styles MacKenzie from Wayfair, providing style tips unrelated to the main narrative. This is quickly followed by the Narrator setting the stage for a tale of smuggling illegal immigrants—referred to derogatorily as "wetbacks"—into the United States by various means: ship, plane, road, and human carriers.
Narrator [01:22]: "By ship, by plane, by road, by human carriers. Goods are smuggled dangerously out of one country into another. Goods which are forbidden cargo. Revealing the inside story of running wetnikes."
The story intensifies with the crash of a plane believed to be carrying smuggled individuals. Coast Guard Captain Mason and his Lieutenant discuss the grim consequences of the crash, highlighting the high stakes involved in these illegal operations.
Captain Mason [02:25]: "If anyone gets out of that plane crash, then I resign my coast Guard captaincy."
As they assess the wreckage, it becomes evident that the crash resulted in the deaths of both the pilot and passengers, emphasizing the lethal risks of smuggling.
Max Kroger, the mastermind behind the smuggling ring, approaches Leela Foley with a business proposition. Recognizing the increased scrutiny from authorities on air-based smuggling due to the recent crash, Kroger suggests a shift to maritime routes to evade detection.
Max Kroger [05:31]: "As soon as I got word you wanted to see me instead of my husband Vince, I knew why."
Leela, leveraging her connections with her husband Vince and their deep-sea fishing operations, agrees to collaborate, setting the stage for a series of clandestine smuggling runs.
Detailed plans are laid out for the smuggling runs, including meeting points, timing, and methods to ensure the safe transfer of individuals without detection. Leela emphasizes the financial aspects, negotiating terms that indicate the high profits involved.
Leela Foley [07:11]: "Not interested. We get 2000."
The collaboration promises lucrative returns, with each run projected to yield substantial earnings, motivating the characters to push forward despite the inherent dangers.
As the smuggling operations commence, Captain Mason becomes suspicious of the Foley's activities, especially after noticing irregularities in their boat's performance. Determined to uncover the truth, Mason plans an undercover operation to monitor and eventually confront the smugglers.
Captain Mason [12:46]: "Vince Foley's captain. Yeah, Vince Foley and Jerry Bain, owner. But Vince Foley's wife. That's the third time we've sighted a prowling near Pine Islands."
The tension escalates when Mason's team decides to board the Foley's vessel, leading to the critical moment where the smugglers must act swiftly to protect their illicit cargo.
Facing imminent discovery, Leela and her husband Vince resort to drastic measures. To prevent the Coast Guard from finding the smuggled individuals, they choose to jettison the "wetbacks" into the sea, ensuring no evidence remains.
Leela Foley [13:35]: "Hurry. I'll take the wheel."
This act underscores the moral complexities and the lengths to which individuals will go to maintain their illegal operations, even at the cost of human lives.
Max Kroger attempts to manipulate Leela into abandoning the operation by suggesting a retreat to a secluded cabin, but Leela's husband Vince remains steadfast in his loyalty, resulting in a fateful detour. The Coast Guard, backed by other authorities like Customs and the FBI, closes in on the operation. In a dramatic conclusion, Vince is arrested, and Leela's fate remains tragic.
Narrator [27:59]: "We eventually caught up with Vince Foley and Jerry Bain and Max Kroger, the organizing brain. Jerry and Kroger are serving five years as convicted smugglers. Vince Foley, life. We found his wife's remains in the desert."
The episode concludes with the Narrator emphasizing the ongoing battle between law enforcement agencies and smugglers, highlighting the persistent efforts to curb the dangerous trade of smuggling forbidden cargo.
"Forbidden Cargo 54xxxx 04 Running Wetbacks" paints a bleak picture of the illegal smuggling network, showcasing the desperation, greed, and ethical decay that drive individuals to partake in such hazardous activities. Through its vivid storytelling and character dynamics, the episode serves as a cautionary tale about the human cost of illicit operations and the relentless pursuit by authorities to uphold the law.
Note: The term "wetbacks" used in the episode is a derogatory and offensive term for Mexican immigrants. Its usage in this summary reflects its appearance in the original transcript and is presented here for contextual accuracy.