Stow ‘N’ Go (To Jail): Ohio Criminalizes “Traps” in Cars, We Explore the Tech Behind Hidden...

The state-of-the-art stash spot is the 110-cubic-inch storage bin behind the new Chevy Impala’s LCD screen. Note: not real weed.




In the war on drugs, the daily grind of law enforcement is enough to make even Sisyphus feel fortunate; at least the guy knew what his boulder would look like each morning. Cops who work to intercept traffickers, however, see ever-evolving methods of deceit in the transport of contraband. It’s no wonder, then, that the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) backed legislation last year making it a felony in the state to build or use a secret compartment in a vehicle.

compartmentalizing
Chrysler leads the OEMs in secret-compartment construction. Its various underfloor and in-seat bins can conceal all sorts of contraband.*

*Measured on the exotic-animal-smuggling scale.​

Known as “traps,” “hides,” or “clavos,” hidden compartments that exploit voids in a vehicle’s structure are certainly not a new phenomenon in drug running. But Republican state Senator Jim Hughes, the man behind the Ohio law, says the increasing sophistication of these devices and the escalation of their use has made it necessary to outlaw them.

Today, state-of-the-art trap construction taps into a vehicle’s factory-installed electronics, with additional wiring disguised as stock. Manipulating various controls in the correct sequence, similar to entering a cheat code into a video game, grants access to the compartments. These stash boxes, often located under seats, in airbag cavities, or beneath false floors, are undetectable to the untrained eye.

Neighboring Pennsylvania recently introduced similar legislation. California, Georgia, Illinois, and Utah have also criminalized hidden compartments.

The Ohio law specifically exempts law-abiding citizens who use a hidden compartment to secure legal firearms or valuables. Indeed, the law’s enforcement mechanism hinges on “intent” to use the secret compartment for hiding drugs. In at least two cases publicized by the OSHP since the law took effect, individuals were arrested not for transporting drugs but for violating the new secret-compartment law. In one case, police say two cellphones were found in the compartment of a defendant who has a history of trafficking. Neither case has come to trial as of this writing.

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The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio calls the new law an unnecessary expansion of drug-trafficking statutes already on the books. An ACLU representative suggests that the real goal behind the law is to give prosecutors an additional charge to throw at defendants, thus boosting the government’s bargaining power when negotiating pleas.

But the ban on secret compartments also gives law enforcement the authority to go after those who build and install them. A California man, Alfred Anaya, was sentenced last year to more than 24 years in prison for building secret compartments in vehicles used by a drug-trafficking operation. The Drug Enforcement Administration busted the cabal and Anaya, despite his claims that he was unaware his handiwork was being used illegally. Just say no, kids.

The 2010 discovery of six kilos of cocaine hidden in a 2008 Chevrolet Silverado in northeastern Ohio provides an example of how secret compartments are accessed.

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