South Texas Border Patrol agents are asking for the public’s help in identifying the sources of homemade road spikes used by smugglers to flatten the tires of pursuing law enforcement vehicles.
In 2009, in the Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley sector, the homemade spikes were used 15 times, damaging 33 vehicles. There was only one incident the previous year, and there have already been four in 2010.
In some cases, the spikes, which often look like nails welded together, were put out in anticipation of law enforcement responding to smugglers. The Border Patrol says none of the incidents have resulted in injuries, but the spikes pose a threat to agents and private citizens.