Four people were charged for taking part in a smuggling ring that sought to take children from Mexico into the use, including by using drug-laced candy, according to a new report.
Two of the people, one U.S. citizen Dianne Guadian and permanent resident Manuel Valenzuela were arrested on August 30 in El Paso.
A complaint against them alleged that between May and October last year the group was part of a broader smuggling organization bringing unaccompanied children between the ages of 5 and 13 unlawfully into the U.S.
Two of the members recruited and paid drivers $900 to take children by car from Mexico to a port of entry at the border and use fake documents to claim they were their parents. In at least one operation the children were given marijuana gummies to sedate them. One of them had to be taken to a hospital and was later diagnosed with Marijuana poisoning.
"Targeting children in this way is especially dangerous and cruel. The Criminal Division is dedicated to safeguarding vulnerable populations and dismantling the for-profit smuggling networks that exploit them," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, according to Border Report.
Several episodes of the kind routinely take place at the border. In August, a 16-year-old teen was arrested after getting caught while trying to smuggle four migrants through the southern border, Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks said.
The incident took place earlier in El Paso, Texas, when four migrants were spotted entering the car he was driving.
Banks detailed that when authorities attempted to stop the car, the driver "disregarded, and a short pursuit ensued."
"Law enforcement swiftly activated a vehicle immobilization device that brought the car to a stop. The 16-year-old driver was arrested and now faces state charges for human smuggling," Banks added, noting that the migrants will be "processed according to immigration law."
Authorities also communicated this week that a U.S. citizen was caught by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents while allegedly attempting to smuggle a dozen migrants into the country.
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