EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Federal officials are investigating two cases in which a Mexican drug cartel is using children as carriers and decoys to smuggle fentanyl into the United States.
Children as young as nine, 11, and 16 were involved in separate drug seizures this week in an Arizona port of entry just north of an area where cells of the Sinaloa cartel are known to operate.
The first seizure took place on Labor Day, when a 16-year-old female American citizen tried to re-enter the U.S. on foot at the San Luis I Port of Entry in San Luis, Ariz.
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer processing her return noticed an alert for a juvenile reported as missing and referred the girl to a secondary inspection area.
According to CBP, interviewing officers found out the teenager was carrying drugs in a package taped to her abdomen; they discovered 16,200 fentanyl pills she had been given in Mexico to transport.
Border officers seized the drugs and turned the girl over to the custody of Yuma County Sheriff’s Office deputies.
The second seizure occurred last Tuesday night, when a 32-year-old American mom driving a Kia sedan with her two children, ages 9 and 11, went to the port of entry from San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico.
According to CBP, the officer on duty sent the family to a secondary inspection area of the border crossing to check on the vehicle. There, a canine officer alerted to anomalies, and the Kia was driven through an X-ray portal.
Border officers dismantled the tires and extracted 54,000 blue fentanyl pills and 4 kilos of methamphetamine. The drugs seized are worth nearly $200,000, CBP said.
Special agents with Homeland Security Investigations interviewed the woman and placed her under custody. CBP did not say what happened to the two children, who were also American citizens. In such cases, minors usually are returned to close family members or turned over to the custody of a child protection agency.
“Both of these seizures highlight how drug trafficking organizations exploit children as part of their business, stated Chris Leon, Area Port Director for San Luis. “Our CBP officers remain vigilant on America’s front line and dedicated to keeping these deadly drugs out of our communities.”
San Luis Rio Colorado, across the border from San Luis, Ariz., has been a hotbed of Sinaloa cartel activity for at least the past six years. Drug tunnels leading to the U.S. border have been discovered, mass graves unearthed, and shootings between rival cells have been reported as recently as last March.
