The investigation was in trouble, with no leads to go on. After their high-profile investigation, the criminals were sure to flee if they had any sense. As for the artwork, they could toss it into any room and no one would find it. This just about guaranteed they wouldn't catch anyone.
Mahong was very unhappy, but there was no other choice. He could only contact Ruiz to help push ICE a bit more. Customs data was basically independent, and the FBI had to apply. If it were the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), it would be much easier since their systems were directly connected.
Ruiz was not Hughes; he didn't have many connections on the other side yet, which was really unfortunate. So now, they could only follow the standard procedure, at most just hurry things along a bit.
But this wasn't Ruiz's fault. Hughes had been an agent and supervisor for many years, and Ruiz had just grown out of the anti-gang unit, so it was normal for him not to have connections higher up.
