The Lineup Page #3

Fred? Ben.

We just left Dressler at the opera house.

I want a 24-hour tail on him

and his house staked out.

That's right.

And I want all the porters who

were on the ansonia dock today

Brought in tomorrow morning

for the lineup.

Well, ask them If they'll cooperate,

But I want them there.

Well, if you want us,

We'll be at Chester Mcphee's

Office at the customs house.

Yeah.

Come in.

Ben, al, sit down.

Hello, chet.

Chet, the tourist police

got two men killed this morning.

One of them was a police officer

named Don Moore.

I'm sorry, Ben.

So am I, 'cause the bag

was cleared through customs.

What was the contraband?

A quarter-kilo of heroin

Concealed in An oriental statuette.

That's a lot of junk to miss,

isn't it?

I don't want to see

any of the boys get killed -

Especially through someone

else's carelessness.

Look, take it easy, Ben.

Ben feels pretty badly About this, chet.

I know, al,

and I don't blame him.

Approximately 130 million people

are cleared through customs

Nationwide every year.

My baby is the biggest port on the coast.

Come here, ben.

I want to show you something.

Now, this area is the chief

target in the country...

for running in narcotics.

4.500 ships a year,

almost 400 a month,

Come into this port.

That's about 1 million people,

Annually.

My men are the best in the business,

There's just not enough of them

to go around.

There are too many loopholes.

That's why now and then

we miss a big one.

Maybe we can help each other on this.

What's your rundown, Ben?

Well, the bag belonged to a man

Named Dressler -

Philip Dressler.

He came on The ansonia this morning.

Philip Dressler?

Well, he'd never risk His reputation

By being involved with narcotics.

and he certainly Doesn't need money.

Oh, we've interrogated him,

of course...

without tipping him.

He tells A pretty straight story.

Said he bought the statuette

From an unidentified oriental...

in Hong Kong.

Mm-hmm.

How'd you handle it?

We replaced the heroin

with a dummy shipment,

Then returned the statuette

and the bag to him.

But we have Dressler under

24-hour stakeout now.

Well,

Sounds like the usual m.o.

You've run across it before?

Tourists - Reputable travelers

Being used As innocent smugglers.

And I'd say that's

What happened to Dressler.

A shipment of heroin Is planted on him.

He brings the stuff In through customs,

Doesn't suspect a thing.

Once past us,

His bags get stolen.

It's just that simple.

How can a handful of agents

Check out every single tourist

That goes through?

Precisely.

Oh, sure, we get tips From overseas

About narcotic shipments,

and we nab them just

As soon as they hit port.

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