L.A. SPEAK : Customs Declarations

block blitz n . group of vehicles arbitrarily chosen by U.S. Customs Service agent for secondary inspection at a border crossing. “Pull over everbody south of that Beemer for a block blitz. “

* fishkiller flight n . plane arriving from resort or sports-fishing area whose passengers smuggle catch in carry-on bags. “That Mexicana from Cabo is a real fishkiller flight .” * hit n . 1. positive reaction of drug-sniffing dog to contraband; 2. name that registers on a computer search.

* imp n. impostor.

* load n. large cache of contraband.

* mark the dec phr . note made by agent on suspected smuggler’s customs declaration; suspect will be scrutinized in the penalty box (see below) before clearing customs

* penalty box n. final customs checkpoint, reviled by agents due to high volume of traffic. “I dissed the boss, so he busted me down to the penalty box. “

* port runner n. person without documentation who attempts to enter the United States by racing through the customs area. “They had to tackle two port runners at TWA international last week.”

* swallower n. smuggler who conceals contraband by swallowing it. Syn. stuffer.

* room service phr. code so that suspect will not know he/she is being sent to a room for a full body search. Syn. romeo sierra; r.s. “We’ve got a possible imp I’m sending over for room service. “