Photo Credit: James Tourtellotte

Ray Pardo, CBP Newark inspector and resident inventor.

CBP's McGyver
Enter Ray Pardo-a-newark, N.J. inspector who has earned a reputation as U.S. Customs and Border Protections's McGyver after the television character. McGyver, you may recall, was famous for solving complex problems, such as disarming entire weapons systems with things like paper clips, string, and bubble gum. Pardo, a 19-year veteran inspector, acquired his knowledge of machinery working as a diesel mechanic and welder before becoming an inspector. His specialty is using technology developed for one industry and applying it in non-traditional ways to solve CBP's specialized inspection problems.

For example, Pardo determined that inspectors could detect tampering in machinery or containers with an ultra-sonic thickness gauge normally employed by plumbers and pipefitters to determine the degree of corrosion in a pipe. The gauge tests welds or joints on metal, plastic, or glass that might look good cosmetically but that may have been newly constructed to cover evidence of tampering. Another instance of borrowed technology is the magnetic induction amp meter normally used by electricians to measure the flow of current in a wire or by auto mechanics to check alternator output. Using this meter, inspectors can bypass smuggler invented codes and find the magnetized motor that opens trap doors to hidden compartments holding contraband in machinery or automobiles.

So how does the self-effacing Pardo, nicknamed "Slice" for the piece of pizza he eats at lunch every day, come by his skill and creativity? Pardo, who does not have an engineering degree, has taken some engineering courses but attributes his success to innate curiosity and adds; "it must just be in my genes." At the age of four he was taking apart his new Christmas firehouse toy to see how it worked. By the time he was 10, he was working on cars with his brother, further fueling his fascination with how things worked. Today, CBP is the heir to his innovative technical skill.

Mechanical seals
As a veteran contraband enforcement team member, Pardo literally knew his containers inside and out and the risks they presented. After 9/11, a sense of urgency turned up the heat on this back-burner interest. Long before terrorists were a threat, containers were sealed once they were "stuffed" or loaded to prevent pilfering, protect product integrity, and prevent smuggling of drugs or other contraband. A quick surf on the Internet shows countless vendors offering products to secure the typically 8- or 9.5-foot-tall by 20- or 40-foot-long containers, known in the industry as "cans." The number and type of security seal products is mind-boggling-ranging from high tensile-strength steel seals to brightly colored plastic bands.

Pardo knew that almost as important as the seal itself is where it is placed. Seals on the hasp, or handle, of the container can be easily circumvented. "I saw that shippers were using electronic and other high-tech seals placed on the hasp as security seals, but this still left the container at risk for tampering. It was like using a high-tensile steel bike lock to attach a bike to a picket fence. You have to look at the whole system and see if there are patterns for compromising it," said Pardo.

Perpetrators display great resourcefulness in the high-stakes business of cargo infiltration-a-container can be opened leaving the seal intact by removing the rivets around the hasp or handle panel or by taking the entire container door off its hinges. "Think like a smuggler," says Pardo, who began applying his considerable engineering and design capabilities to the problem. The solution came to him while doodling on a yellow legal pad.

And the solution is ...
The doodle resulted in the "Pardo hole," a hole drilled into the container in a strategic location so that, when used with a mechanical or electronic seal, it prevents access to a container without breaking the seal. The Pardo hole is drilled near the base of the container, through the vertical locking bar, and into the door's lower plate. The bolt seal is placed through the hole so that it blocks removal of the rivets. Since the locking bar cannot be turned, the door cannot be opened or taken off its hinges without breaking the seal.

A container can be retrofitted with this 1/2 inch hole in less than two minutes, and the bolt seal costs under a dollar-an-inexpensive, precise, neat and simple solution that had eluded some of the best think-tank engineering types in the industry.

The doodle that derailed smugglers' efforts to move contraband in sea containers - the original sketch of the Pardo hole and security seal.

A critical component of smart boxes
Smart boxes must have both an electronic container security device and a mechanical seal that is high-security and tamper-evident, like the bolt-seal/Pardo-hole combination. There are other mechanical seals that meet the standards to be labeled high-security and tamper-evident. One is a handcuff seal that operates much like a padlock, and the other is a cable seal that consists of a cable with a locking mechanism. The bolt seal used in conjunction with the Pardo hole is the least expensive of these options and the simplest to put on the container. Unlike the cable seal, which must be put on correctly to be effective, the bolt seal is either on or off the container.

Smugglers and others with nefarious motives will continue their efforts to undermine trade security measures-huge potential profits and philosophical ideals are too compelling to be abandoned. Yet in this sparring match of wits these efforts will be continually blocked by the work of men like Ray Pardo who utilize ordinary methods and means to achieve extraordinary results.