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Drug smugglers prefer Motorola encrypted radios

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Border Patrol agents nabbed him in the vicinity of an Arizona hilltop spotting camp near the point where Interstate 8 joins Interstate 10, along with two known drug smugglers. When agents spotted him, he dropped his Motorola radio — the type used by smuggling scouts — and ran. He was at the same spotting camp three months earlier.
 

TampaTyron

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If money is no object and if the radio fails, you or someone else will likely die..... I am guessing it was TRBO with Enhanced Privacy. TT
 

RRR

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There was a similar article from a few years ago, Mex dope guys had employed a radio tech to install and maintain an IP connected DMR system, with Enh Enc.

But you can put all the enc. you want on a radio, the FCC can still trace you down. (Well, maybe not in Mexico)
 

wardaddy

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If money is no object and if the radio fails, you or someone else will likely die..... I am guessing it was TRBO with Enhanced Privacy. TT
Didn't they seize some TRBO equipment from them a few years back?
 

MtnBiker2005

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Giddyuptd

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Being in a border county it isn't uncommon any and all types are found from bubble packs, to high end expensive. They don't care what band uhf, vhf, low, 800 if it works and they can use it they will. We have found them thrown or lost in no man's land before.
 
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Last year there was an RFQ for Hytera radios for an Army training group playing ISIS fighters because that was the type they found in the field and wanted to keep the scenario as real as possible.
 

TampaTyron

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I would like to also add that there are videos on YouTube or Liveleak of cartel shootouts where people are listening to Cartel radio communications. The ones I have seen are xpr7550 radios complete with channel names, contact names/lists, and encryption loaded (at least by the display on the radio). I am guessing the videos are by people who either found the radios after previous shootouts or are actual cartel members. This seems weird to me, but I have heard stories of complete parking lots full of cartel vehicles with keys in them and guns laying in around, but the locals refuse to even go near that stuff because the penalty is so high. It is some crazy stuff. TT
 

a417

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This seems weird to me, but I have heard stories of complete parking lots full of cartel vehicles with keys in them and guns laying in around, but the locals refuse to even go near that stuff because the penalty is so high. It is some crazy stuff. TT
"plata o plomo".

you mean death, right?
 

KevinC

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Maybe the government should sue them for making such good radios that the cartel's insist on using them.
 

IC-R20

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There was a similar article from a few years ago, Mex dope guys had employed a radio tech to install and maintain an IP connected DMR system, with Enh Enc.

But you can put all the enc. you want on a radio, the FCC can still trace you down. (Well, maybe not in Mexico)

Not really in the USA either since they don't really care if it's not creating interference. I've been doing it in open analog the past 15 years as do a lot businesses. Also it involved kidnapped radio shop guys in addition to the one front shop in the USA. They ran P25 and there was a nice photo of ton of sexy looking HTs on the radio. Great stuff. I'll have to get some used APX7000s myself with all the keycodes enabled off ebay.
 

RayAir

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If they were running comms using Mototrbo enhanced privacy, they should of just let them keep the radios. Let them think they're talking private and monitor them.
 

TampaTyron

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Gotta act like it is still secure to keep up the facade. If we stopped caring, then they would jump ship. Much like the US publicaly complained about Enigma crypto machines after WW2 for many years. This led to many countries using the machines while their messages were read. Enigma being broken was declassified in the 70's, so there was 25ish years of other countries messages we were able to read. TT
 

Project25_MASTR

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I used to have a 442 transmission I picked up while staying in McAllen for a week a few years ago. NXDN 4800, encryption flag was on.
 
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