Lots of juveniles are being used by drug traffickers for smuggling drugs from Mexico to the United States, says a recent report. The US-Mexico boundary, especially the Tucson sector, has become the favorite ‘channel’ of people associated with illicit buying and selling of hard drugs in last couple of years, and a few recent incidents have proved that the bad practice has been going up with each passing day.
Arizona – the State Most Affected by the Drug Traffickers
It has been seen that Arizona is the first preference of most of these drug traffickers as their entry points. They target kids, allure them and make them work as mules to spread their business throughout the entire United States for a little amount of money.
A number of teens have already been detained while trying to move drugs like marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine through the border between Mexico and the United States.
Before a few months, four female teenagers have been found in a commercial shuttle with several packets of heroin hidden in their waistbands at a certain checkpoint on the border. All of them have been arrested by the Border Patrol agents.
Children are Being Used as Body Carriers
In the Federal system, prosecuting kids is not that easy. This is the reason for which various drug trafficking organizations are tempting children and using them as porters.
Most of these children are aged between 15 years and 18 years. However, 12-year old kids have also been found to be used by the drug smugglers for this purpose.
Not only this, but kids are also being used as body carriers, which has become a truly serious concern for the Border Portal agents. They are attaching the bundles of drugs with different body parts like abdomen, thighs, etc. and trying to cross the border.
The Ill Practice is Rising at an Alarming Rate
According to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official, the incident of using juveniles for trafficking harmful drugs through the US-Mexico border is not a new one. But the way it is going on these days is “kind of new and alarming”.
In the year 2011, around 122 minors were found to be associated with drug-smuggling, while last year the figure reached 244. This year, 154 teens have been taken into custody till May, which is enough to understand how rapidly the ill practice is increasing.
For each operation, these youngsters are offered somewhat 200 to 300 bucks. It is certainly a handsome amount for these kids and hence, a large chunk of them are falling prey to this racket, says one of the Border Patrol agents.
