Added August 8, 2026

Cartel Traps

San Diego, CA · Sep 21–22, 2026 · 16 hours · $599.00

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Instructor

Jeremy Bedingfield

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Description

For the two-day version, I’d emphasize that Day 1 builds the knowledge base and Day 2 puts it into practice on actual vehicles.

### CARTEL TRAPS — TWO-DAY HANDS-ON HIDDEN COMPARTMENT TRAINING

**Cartel Traps Two-Day Hands-On Hidden Compartment Training** is an intensive, comprehensive course designed to take officers beyond the classroom and provide practical experience identifying and searching vehicles equipped with real hidden compartments.

**Day One** consists of the complete Cartel Traps classroom curriculum, giving students a systematic approach to vehicle searches and teaching them how to **identify and clear natural voids, recognize tooling and tampering, detect non-factory modifications, perform depth and dimensional checks, and identify indicators associated with hidden compartments.** Students are exposed to hundreds of real-world examples, photographs, videos, and case studies covering concealment methods throughout the entire vehicle.

**Day Two is dedicated to hands-on training.** Students work in teams and rotate through multiple practical stations where they search **actual trap cars equipped with hidden compartments.** Students must apply the techniques learned during the classroom portion to locate compartments concealed within floors, rocker panels, firewalls, dashboards, roofs, battery areas, tires, and other locations.

Additional practical exercises challenge students to systematically clear a vehicle's natural voids and locate simulated contraband concealed throughout the vehicle—reinforcing a complete, methodical search process rather than simply looking for known traps.

The goal of the two-day course is not simply to show officers hidden compartments. It is to teach them **how to find them.** Students leave with both the knowledge and practical experience necessary to recognize when something is not factory, identify concealment indicators, clear vehicle voids, and conduct more effective vehicle searches in the field.

**Clear the Voids. Know what factory looks like. Stop missing traps.**

*Training restricted to sworn law enforcement personnel.*

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Reviews for this course

4.9/5.0 (1619 reviews)
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1540
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62
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15
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1
Rob B.
CA · Attended 8/31/2023

Highly recommend if deep concealment detection is part of your duties. Instructor is very knowledgeable and provides current examples.

★★★★★ 5/5 · Instructor: ★★★★★ 5/5
Javier R.
CA · Attended 8/31/2023

This class should be included as a core class for all new Law Enforcement officials that have passed phase training. Although I have some prior experience from assisting in stops, this class would have been very beneficial prior to making my stops. The amount of knowledge Deputy Bedingfield provides during the course will greatly enhance my effectiveness in the field.

★★★★★ 5/5 · Instructor: ★★★★★ 5/5
Jason I.
CA · Attended 8/31/2023
1

This course was probably one of the best trainings I’ve sat through. All the information was direct and given in depth. The instructor was clearly back with tons of knowledge and experience and it was good to see first hand findings in vehicles with the BWC from his camera. Awesome job Jeremy!

★★★★★ 5/5 · Instructor: ★★★★★ 5/5
Ronald R.
CA · Attended 8/31/2023

Very interesting and eye opening.

★★★★★ 5/5 · Instructor: ★★★★★ 5/5
Jonathon Y.
CA · Attended 8/31/2023

Amazing class! Learned a ton! Keep it up dude

★★★★★ 5/5 · Instructor: ★★★★★ 5/5
Edwin C.
CA · Attended 8/31/2023

Learning how to systematically search a vehicle made easy. Jeremy breaks down details on common traps and how to look for them

★★★★★ 5/5 · Instructor: ★★★★★ 5/5
Richard W.
CA · Attended 8/31/2023

Very informative, great information and vehicle search instruction.

★★★★★ 5/5 · Instructor: ★★★★★ 5/5
Mike T.
CA · Attended 8/31/2023

Very detailed and thorough training. Increased confidence in searching vehicles.

★★★★★ 5/5 · Instructor: ★★★★★ 5/5
David W.
CA · Attended 8/31/2023

The course was informative and engaging the whole time. A lot of information.

★★★★★ 5/5 · Instructor: ★★★★★ 5/5
Tracey L.
CA · Attended 8/31/2023

I really enjoyed the class. I definitely learned a lot and I really hope to search new compartments and find dope and guns.

★★★★★ 5/5 · Instructor: ★★★★★ 5/5
Tyler K.
CA · Attended 8/31/2023

Incredible training.

★★★★★ 5/5 · Instructor: ★★★★★ 5/5
Matthew T.
CA · Attended 8/31/2023

Great class

★★★★★ 5/5 · Instructor: ★★★★★ 5/5
Antonio F.
CA · Attended 8/31/2023

A lot of quality information that helped me realize how much more I could be doing.

★★★★★ 5/5 · Instructor: ★★★★★ 5/5
Jason R.
CA · Attended 8/31/2023

Great class to improve searches

★★★★★ 5/5 · Instructor: ★★★★★ 5/5
Kade M.
CA · Attended 8/31/2023

This course is excellent for officers looking to improve their overall performance and confidence in searching criminal vehicles.

★★★★★ 5/5 · Instructor: ★★★★★ 5/5
Justin C.
CA · Attended 8/31/2023

Great class

★★★★★ 5/5 · Instructor: ★★★★★ 5/5
Aaron K.
CA · Attended 8/31/2023

Great class to learn where and how to quickly look for contraband. Easy takeaways that will be applied on all stops going forward.

★★★★★ 5/5 · Instructor: ★★★★★ 5/5
Adam Z.
CA · Attended 8/31/2023

Great class with a lot of experience from the instructor and a lot of visible demonstrations provided!

★★★★★ 5/5 · Instructor: ★★★★★ 5/5
Elias L.
CA · Attended 8/31/2023

Extremely informative, showing video helped picture/understand where and how the traps/voids were accessed or seen.

★★★★★ 5/5 · Instructor: ★★★★★ 5/5
Travis B.
CA · Attended 8/31/2023

The class was very informative and gave great insight into ways drugs and contraband can be hidden inside a vehicle. This course showed what and where to look to find any potential compartments and is another tool to aid me in becoming a more effective police officer.

★★★★★ 5/5 · Instructor: ★★★★★ 5/5
Alvin C.
CA · Attended 8/31/2023

Great photos and videos to show exactly where to search and what to do.

★★★★★ 5/5 · Instructor: ★★★★★ 5/5
Christian D.
CA · Attended 8/31/2023

I was looking forward to this class for a long time once I heard about Jeremy from Den's class in January.... I really enjoyed how the class was focused solely searching the vehicle...i felt really confident from other interdiction courses ive taken but spending a whole day on the anatomy of vehicles and possible inconsistencies within has definitely increased my knowledge and confidence.

★★★★★ 5/5 · Instructor: ★★★★★ 5/5
Sergio H.
CA · Attended 8/31/2023

This class simplifies the best methods to conduct a thorough vehicle search. Excited to apply this tactics to make the most of my vehicles stops.

★★★★★ 5/5 · Instructor: ★★★★★ 5/5
Lucy A.
CA · Attended 8/31/2023

Excellent class! Highly recommend it.

★★★★★ 5/5 · Instructor: ★★★★★ 5/5
Brennan M.
CA · Attended 8/31/2023

This was an awesome training class and one of my favorite courses that I’ve been to. It was extremely informative and relevant. It really provided useful information and shed light on things I never thought about before. It really helps you better understand what to look for when identifying a criminal vehicle and how to conduct a search, as well as investigation and interview techniques.

★★★★★ 5/5 · Instructor: ★★★★★ 5/5

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