I was pulled over for having out of state plates in middle america because they thought I had drugs just because I had California plates. They did a drug sniffing dog (before this was ruled unconstitutional). Cop was absolutely convinced I had drugs and so disappointed I didn’t.

What you’re not accounting for is all the people they pulled over that didn’t have drugs and you never heard about.

> an out-of-state license plate hunch correctly leading to a big drug bust seems implausible to me

That's the excuse Customs and Border Protection uses to make Kavanaugh stops on brown people in the 100-mile zone on the New York border.

If you're the correct dark shade of brown and have an Ontario, Quebec, or other out of state plate, a white-and-green Suburban will fly out of a hidden parking spot next to a trailhead entrance, pull you over, and start harassing you and assume you're a drug mule.

lol. this is not for catching drug smugglers. that's the bs that is fed to the general public. it's mass surveillance. plain and simple