Thread: Mother alledegly uses kids as drug mules

http://www.elpasotimes.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 70363/1001

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Mother allegedly uses kids as drug mules

Daniel Borunda
El Paso Times

A woman, her 11-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter allegedly hiding marijuana bundles strapped to their bodies were caught Tuesday by border inspectors in Fabens, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said Wednesday.

"It is sad and disturbing to see a parent use her children to smuggle drugs into the country," Fabens port director Barry Miller said in a news release.

About 7 a.m. Tuesday, a 1994 Ford Explorer with the woman and her four children entered from Mexico, officials said. The Ford was selected for an X-ray inspection, and the family got out of the vehicle.

While the vehicle was X-rayed, officers noticed a bulge in the waist of the 11-year-old boy wearing a zipped-up jacket, officials said. A bundle was discovered. The family was then searched, leading to the discovery of 10.6 pounds of marijuana.

The boy was hiding four marijuana bundles, the girl had two bundles, and their mother, a 32-year-old resident of Fabens, also had four packages. A 19-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old son were not smuggling anything, officials said.

The woman and the 11-year-old boy were arrested by El Paso County sheriff's deputies.

An investigation continues and names were not released, sheriff's spokesman Rick Glancey said. The woman was jailed. The 11-year-old boy was turned over to juvenile authorities. The 9-year-old girl and 4-year-old boy were released to the oldest daughter.

The woman was charged with three counts of child endangerment and possession of marijuana over 5 pounds but under 50 pounds.

Cases of parents using their own children to smuggle drugs are rare, but Tuesday's case follows a similar attempt last month in Nogales, Ariz., where border officers caught a 33-year-old woman and her two daughters, ages 17 and 13, smuggling marijuana on their bodies, federal officials said.

Drug traffickers are increasingly using juveniles to smuggle marijuana across the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a 2004 report on El Paso by the Office of National Drug Control.

Just another family-owned business along the border.

along with the drug charges she should (if they do like we did) have 4 charges of child abuse also.


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