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Federal agents in charge of monitoring drug smuggling along the U.S.-Mexico border say more and more teenagers are getting involved in the smuggling trade – and may even be at risk for recruitment.
According to federal agents, many suspected teen smugglers have been caught this year at the San Ysidro border trying to cross into the U.S. with drugs secretly taped to their bodies.
Agents say both American and Mexican children as young as 12 years old are being recruited by cartels as drug mules. And, these days, marijuana is no longer the drug of choice.
“It shocks me and saddens me that kids are getting involved. It doesn’t shock me that cartels will use whatever method they need,” said Jose Garcia, a deputy special agent for ICE Homeland Security Investigations.
Garcia says his agents have been focusing on teen drug smugglers since 2009.
So far, Garcia says cartels have recruited kids outside schools, arcades and malls from the South Bay to Poway, and as far east as Mountain Empire.
Social media has also been used to entice potential teen smugglers.
“We’ve even had one recruited by someone they know on Facebook,” said Garcia.
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The special agent says teens can carry as much as six kilos of drugs hidden under their clothing. The money they get if they make it across the border is minimal compared to the risk they take.
“The lowest (payment) is $50 and the highest we’ve heard is about $500. But the average is somewhere between $75 and $300,” explained Garcia.
The cartel recruiters tell the kids that because they are minors, they won’t get in serious trouble.
However, Garcia says that selling point is misleading.
“The truth is if they are arrested with narcotics, especially hard narcotics, they're going to have two felonies on their record,” said Garcia.
Last year, a record 190 teens – ages 18 and under – were caught smuggling drugs along the San Diego County-Mexico border, according to federal investigators.
So far this year, the number is down to 128, but Garcia says there are still disturbing new trends.
While marijuana was once the main drug being smuggled by teenagers, now it’s meth.
Also, recruiters used to target mainly teenage boys, but now they’re targeting young girls.
"If you look at the way that some females are dressed, it's hard to detect, they're wearing skinny jeans and tight tops and they still manage to hide it on them so the untrained eye wouldn't pick up on it," explained Garcia.
To help combat the teen drug smuggling trend, agents have formed a special outreach program that travels from school to school, warning kids about the dangers of drug smuggling.
Agents also warn parents to be alert and aware of their teens’ cash flow. Agents say that if a child suddenly has a lot of money and parent don’t know where it came from, it could be a red flag.
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Smugglers are smart. They know that if they give a teenager baggy pants, give them a cellphone and have them say things like "kewl" and "freakin' awesome", adults including Border Patrol will totally avoid them.
I thought the cool terms nowadays were 'word up' and 'fresh.'
Sounds like some groovy and far out terms are now being used.
But I was under the impression that all they used were acronyms now, not just for texting but in spoken word as well.
Tom Clancy must have heard about this before we did because his novel Against All Enemies which was published in 2011 has teenage drug smugglers in it. I've seen things in his novels more than once that have come true. Could he be giving the bad guys ideas or is he getting his ideas from the bad guys?
Using children to transport drugs is not new. It's been going on since drug smuggling started. Look back at headlines from the 60's and 70's. Seriously, you people calling yourselves journalists need to learn how to "investigate" all these claims you make.
Please tell me something that is new.
Teen drug carriers have been used for ages just because they fall under the young offender law.
Hell a a minor you can kill people and get off with a slap on the wrist. So much for the law protecting us from those juveniles.
Thats why the main way they find drugs is with dogs. When a dog can somehow smell drugs sealed in a tire it is unlikley you can hide them on your person. They are constantly walking down the lines with dogs .
I had 2 friends in the 70' long hair in their teens come across the boarder, they took their car apart, I mean apart, tires off the rims, engine out, seats out, the car was towed back to Chicago in pieces, this is not new. Missed the OZ bag of MJ and 25 hit of Window Pain that they had Jocked.
'Border'
still opposing border control ?
these aren't "violent crimes" so they can still get citizenship under the obama admin's guidelines
Every White American needs to realize Mexicans are 90% Racist and Whites are 10% racist per capita.
This is what 90% of Mexicans believe to feel justified for sneaking under our fences
to steel our country. I lived with Mexicans-Chicanos for 30+ years and I am white, I am an officianado on this subject.
I come Texas from Mexico in 1987 so call illegal way but Texas was Mexico until
USA stoel it during War of Aggression 1846. I consider myself a Mexican
We did not steel it from you pendejo. That obsurd excuse for you Mexicans to feel justified
to steel white and black mans vote. You have no ties to our great nation, you
and poncho vila. We conqured it by defeating your pathetic corupt leaders and
army with guns and knives. And it was North American indians land not yours.
when you kick out Spain, Spains territory was up for grabs and we grabed it
with our white blood. Your stealing America by sneaking and crawling under our
fence to steel our jobs. We did not steel, we fight, we conqure with our white
blood. You sneak under our fences
The south west USA was north american indans land. Apaches, Navajo, Gila, Pima
indians. You dont belong here. They kept kicking your butts back down south to
Mexico every time you murdered and raped their villages to to conquere them.
Whites conquered indians with their white blood.
Well, since the Southwest belonged to the Indians, why don't they still control it? I guess we must have "kicked their butts" after they kicked the Mexican's butts. Someone, someday will kick our butts
If we just legalized all this crap, tax the hell out it, it would still be less expensive to the pathetic losers that use it. Put the Cartels out of business and pay off the national debt all at once! But NOOOO. Lets just keep throwing BILLIONS of $'s away trying to stop something that history has shown we never will. I don't get it!! All of this money that is spent on drugs supports global terrorism! Legalize drugs and shut these evil doers down!!!!! Who cares if these druggies start dropping like flies from over dosing, good riddance!!
Legalizing won't solve anything, if we had legal drugs in the U.S which will probably only ever reach marijuana, it would cost more then what the cartels are selling theirs for, still giving them a reason to smuggle drugs to America. The Cartels are one of Americas greatest threats, there is a war going on in Mexico right now over this, U.S officials are worried that it will eventually spill over into the U.S. It's not just the U.S that is being affected by this it is most of the world.
I agree though we are spending a little to much on this and instead should focus on reducing and helping the people who are stuck on drugs, which would be cheaper then going through with all this. Obama added more funds in 2011 to help curb some Americans dependance on drugs of all kinds. Hopefully we will see its affects in a decade or so.
Fckin' Mexicans are poisoning our society and LA BAMA wants to reward them with
AMNESTY,
DRIVER'S LICENSES,
SCHOLARSHIPS,
HEALTHCARE
NUSERIES FOR 14 YEAR OLD LATINA MOTHERS IN HIGH SCHOOLS
POLICE PROTECTION against outraged AMERICANS
BANK LOANS
LEGALIZED DRUGS
SPANISH ONLY BILLBOARDS
TELE MUNDO
MSN LATINO
etc........
This is Mexico's Fast and Furious.......But THEY can get away with it because of crybabies like OBAMA and his hag, HILLARY!
Do you have the papers to show that Indians were the first owners? No. Do you know why?.....
Adam & Eve owned it first. All of it! THE WHOLE WORLD!
anyone who is not a decendant of Adam & Eve are illegal aliens on this earth!
so how is punishing the teenagers help anyone at all? it's like killing ants one by one. the ants don't care and you sure are not gaining anything.
You can't just take the drugs off of them and tell them to go forth and sin no more, not enough of a deterent to others.
What exactly would be a correct punishment is beyond me, spankings won't work, jail is to excessive, grounding is useless, but maybe taking away all of their video/electronic/hand-held games and devices (cell phones etc.) for a period of .. say 2 years.. would get through to them.
So what? just let them go??? Of course they have to be punished to some extent. This is however, just another reason NOT to be giving blanket amnesty to illegals and their anchor babies. We have to STOP allowing hundreds of thousands to continue to come to this country, deal drugs and commit other crimes and influence kids on this side of the border. America doesn't take care of all our legal citizens right now. Our jails and prisons are already overflowing with legal and illegal criminals. Makes NO sense to forgive more of them especially when they are perpetuating this type of criminal activity in addition to breaking immigration laws!!! Why is JAIL too excessive??? Strong deterents are what it takes to slow this stuff down!!!!
They can't really do anything to them, they are too young. They will just deport them back to Mexico and they will get a new ride, new drugs and hopefully get through the next time.
They should focus on the consumption part, not the transportation part. Help people get off drugs and stay off drugs and then only will this all stop.
This is a war MEXICO is conducting against AMERICA.
Hold them as enemy combatants at Guantanamo.
You're never gonna win a war against Mexico if you keep hiring Mexicans to fight them.
Hello out there.I live near, next to the border and worked in the schools for 20 years. this is not new, not new at all. See that parking lot filled with nice cars and trucks while the kid is on free lunch. And they get a lot more than was stated.
You have to make a living somehow.
how about getting a job ?
Hoxie, you are so right! And this is in no way a new problem. American teens have been doing this since atleast the 1960's. I had friends that went to TJ every Saturday and they came back with a load of pills, black tar and MJ every time. And they made allot more than what this reporter stated even back then. But hey, we don't need to do anything about our borders, heck never has been a problem, just listen to the current administration.
They do have a job.
Whatever happened to the Girl and the Mule?
In Cicero, ILL which is now 85% Mexican, the parents claim LOW INCOME while driving $50,000 SUVs. By law, their kids are eligible for FREE BREAKFASTS/LUNCH programs which they don't eat and is then thrown out in the garbage after school everyday. These RATS don't know how good they have it.
This is bad news, but good news for shows like Dateline and Oprah. Maybe they'll make a Lifetime movie called 'My Daughter was a Coke Runner.'
execute ALL drug dealers...
Go away troll.
What's with that statement steve??? Free country, all opinions are included in that!!!!
Well then wouldn't Steve's opinion be included?
Absolutely!!! The question is...WHY the go away troll??? IF Steve is opposed to views that differ from his own then why is he reading/posting??? Way too much hating on others with different opinions lately, time to let everyone have their say!!! That is the point I was trying to get at arguesforsport. Did you want to argue about it????
Poison all LATINO products in the US with their own drugs!
This is not new. Where have you all been the past 35-40 years.
Listening to Communists like OBAMA spread lies about how wonderful Mexicans are.
What's really sad is my fellow citizens that contribute to the demand for these drugs. Plenty of folks up in arms about animals being hunted, hurt, and decimated for ivory and other body parts. But very few care about the human lives being destroyed by the demand for drugs. No demand results in no industry to supply the product.
my thoughts, your choices
Oh yeah, that's right, it's all America's fault that Mexico is full of drugs and dealers. All Americans fault that they'd rather be scuzzy criminals. An American problem that they won't stay in their country and fight for change, reform, non-corrupt government and against the cartels.We'd just rather the come here in droves and bring that problem directly to our country and make sure that they get food, housing, education, and medical care while we're at it!!!!. And nobody else in the world but Americans buy their drugs. And I have some ocean front property in Arizona you might like too!!!!
In a free country you can make a choice what to do with your life. Nothing wrong with that.
You do not have the right to poison Americans with Mexican manufactured chemical weapons i.e. drugs.
Problem is if they dont do it the cartel will just murder them and their families or worse if its a girl.
There is no protection
1) Because the government is both in league and terrified of them
2) the people are too afraid to wage their own wars against them
Mexico is a sad situation, my buddies are all going to Cabo in a few months and I opted out just because I dont even trust the tourist locations there anymore.
Bull. I can not believe they could not be protected here in the U.S. truth is it's easy money and their parents don't give a rip how they get it.
Nana you'd don't even have a clue do you?? Do some research on Mexico.
Such wonderful CATHOLICS!!!
Here in Washington and there in Colorado we just eliminated a very large portion of the problems associated with the illigal pot trade-if the feds leave us alone. If the fed do not leave us alone-that says alot doesn't it.
Maybe some better border checking by the U.S. would work. A stare down of a teen works wonders - works most of the time. They are scared to begin with - add to their anxiety. Airport type equipment, separate lines for teens, trained dogs, etc.
If not adults don't let them walk away from the crime. Reformatories have always worked for juveniles. Teach the little bums a lesson.
The two best reformatories in the country: The United States Army and The United States Marine Corps. Nothing makes impression like a good, hard cored, Drill Instructor. I may be a bit biased though.
THIS WE'LL DEFEND
Hate to bust your bubble there Bob, but drills are not allowed to be as tough as they once were. The new recruits of today have feelings that can't be infringed upon and they are given stress cards to hold up if they feel too stressed by the training and the drills must stop to see to them before they go pop.
The days of having a screaming drill instructor spitting in your face have gone the way of the dinosaur.
So, even military service isn't a viable deterrent for these kids. Probably get better results by locking them in a cell with Bubba for a night or two.
Maybe, Herb, all that "touchy-feely" sutff is because of the extremely high rate of suicides among soldiers. You want to continue to support that?
BowW - you are either out of touch or not a vet or solderer like you pretend to be. THE ARMY, MARINES, AND NAVY will not take anyone with a misdemeanor on their record.
Stop playing games please.
These kids are in big trouble !!!
What they need is Gen George Patton, slapping the crap out of these big babies.
NEW??????????
It's only new that the authorities are finally catching on. Teens have been on the frontlines selling their parents and relatives dope for many generations already. They get it from relatives out on parole. Most drug dealers are 15 year old boys. Any outcast in public school knows this, the kids need support for how to report what is going on more and more.
This is NOT new. I lived in El Paso, Texas in the late 60s and early 70s and teenagers were bringing drugs back from Juarez, Mexico.
I also grew up in the late 60s and 70s but in Washington State. No it is not new, was not then either.
Next the cartels will use babies in strollers or women pretending to be pregnant, I worked in retail many years ago and shoplifters used those tactics.
If dopeheads would quit using this crap it would stop, no demand...no supply.
They've been doing this also since atleast the late 1960's. They also have trafficers who swallow balloons of drugs. If you can imagine a method to smuggle trust me, it's already happening and has been.
Did anybody see the "Two and a Half Men" episode where Charlie is hung over and is in a cafe looking for a place to throw up. He can't find a bathroom or a garbage can so he throws up in a baby carriage. I fell on the floor laughing my ....off!
I agree that if there is no demand, there would be no supply. The problem is how to get people not to want recreational drugs. I am at a loss as to what actions would actually change our society's recreational drug use addiction. Recreational drug use is rampant across socioeconomic, age and gender lines.
Well Bill, it's like this...
America is a drug oriented society. They start you out young. Head hurts? Two in the mouth.
These are orange. The other colors come later. So, who do you think is to blame? Major drug companies? The FDA? Or maybe the parents and doctors?
There is just as much death and destruction of lives from the legal drug trade as there is the illegal ones.
People and especially kids will always be tempted to try and use something that authority figures deem taboo. Just to see what all the fuss is about. Basically the current laws of prohibition and the DARE programs could be seen as contributing factors in the experimentation with and use of banned substances.
If it was all made legal and controlled through the FDA, the shine on the bauble would not be so enticing. The criminal elements would have no market whatsoever and smuggling by any means would become a memory.
Interesting how these kids are never grilled by the parents as to where the CA$H is coming from?
Now you are on to something...their parents don't and sometimes can't care less. Can you blame them? If they try to do something about it they (the parents) become the criminals. If it had been 2012 when my dad caught me the first time with a joint HE would still be in prison. And yes it did me some good. Fear of him got me through high school. It takes what it takes. Thanks Dad.
(David N.'s wife here.) @Nana #19: Ask any law enforcer on this continent and they will tell you, 'many of the kids support their parents' by being mules for the pushers.
@Bob #19.1: Sounds like your Dad was a great father and that he cared about you. Too bad the establishment of today prevents parents from kicking their kid's ass.
This is nothing new at all. Teenagers have been mules for drugs for at least a decade, if not longer.
I think toddlers is definitely the way to go. Nobody will suspect a toddler.
Been to an airport lately?
Wait .... this is new? Exactly how far behind is the DEA and EATF?
I remember kids doing hundreds of runs across the northern border when I was growing up near the Canadian border. These kids would get anywhere near $600 - $3000 per run and some of them did two runs a week. That kind of money had all kinds of kids fighting to be some pot dealer's runner.
But hey, it's now legal up there in Washington State so I guess that just shut down that entire business.
How far behind? I would not be surprised at all to find out they use "Reefer Madness" as a training film.
I guess rehab clinic were built just for laughs.
And you thinks this is something new MSNBC? The cartels have used adults, dead people in coffins, dogs, cats, other animals, birds, fish, and just about anything you can imagine.
Whell it is officially time to invade mexico and take over the country and put the cartells out of bussiness for good
since the government cant police there own nation .......
Nothing new .This has been done for ages.
Teenagers and adults, both alike, have been used as "mules" for smuggling drugs in their stomach. Otherwise, how can you explain so many killings and dismemberments? It might be a new thing to many of us, dormant and apathetic, not really exposed to the dark world of drug smuggling
Maybe the problem with our law enforcement officials is that they think this is something new in the first place.
This is what 90% of Mexicans believe to feel justified for sneaking under our fences
to steel our country. I lived with Mexicans-Chicanos for 30+ years and I am white, I am an officianado on this subject.
I come Texas from Mexico in 1987 so call illegal way but Texas was Mexico until
USA stoel it during War of Aggression 1846. I consider myself a Mexican
We did not steel it from you pendejo. That obsurd excuse for you Mexicans to feel justified
to steel white and black mans vote. You have no ties to our great nation, you
and poncho vila. We conqured it by defeating your pathetic corupt leaders and
army with guns and knives. And it was North American indians land not yours.
when you kick out Spain, Spains territory was up for grabs and we grabed it
with our white blood. Your stealing America by sneaking and crawling under our
fence to steel our jobs. We did not steel, we fight, we conqure with our white
blood. You sneak under our fences
The south west USA was north american indans land. Apaches, Navajo, Gila, Pima
indians. You dont belong here. They kept kicking your butts back down south to
Mexico every time you murdered and raped their villages to to conquere them.
Whites conquered indians with their white blood.
BROWN people are evil. They live and breed to destroy everything in sight.
Black people are bad but not as bad as brown, oh and lest dont every get started on the yellow people.. whites are all gray head pedos and Indians are all alcoholics.
yes god help us BLUE people.. sigh
encase you are one of the above.. this was total sarcasm