Given the increase in drug seizures on the US-Mexico border, according to federal government data, drug traffickers are focusing part of their strategy on innocent civilians who risk their lives to operate as unwitting traffickers.
Unbeknownst to her, 47-year-old Belén Brown had illegally smuggled drugs into the United States in the trunk of her car. Border agents discovered 31 kilos of fentanyl. She was immediately sent to a federal prison in California on drug trafficking charges.
Belén, a Mexican-American national, was detained for four days until it was proven that she was a victim of organized crime, a form of smuggling.
What is a smuggling mule?
Smuggling mules are people who cross the border unaware that their vehicle was loaded with drugs, migrants, or weapons by criminals.
Víctor Clark Alfaro, a professor at San Diego State University, explains how organized crime targets individuals.
Usually, the vast majority of these blind mules are those who use the rapid-crossing card. They have already been investigated by U.S. authorities, who are certain they have no criminal record.
Russell Babcock, a criminal lawyer in California, points out that these types of victims are more favorable for criminals.
For organizations, it’s often advantageous to have a “blind mule.” You don’t have to pay the person any money; they can’t provide information about the source of the drugs.
Like Belén, dozens of people are used each week by organized crime as blind mules.
Experts warn that organized crime primarily uses U.S. citizens as blind mules, taking advantage of the lax treatment they receive at border crossings.
Number of Americans Detained Growing
Experts also believe that the strategy or method used by organized crime may be behind the growing number of Americans detained with drugs at the border.
According to data from the Cato Institute, 91% of illicit drug seizures at checkpoints are of U.S. citizens.
Every day, more than 300,000 vehicles cross the U.S.-Mexico border. Almost half, about 142,000, do so through the Baja California border ports.
Source: nmas
