Mom straps drugs to 13-year-old son to smuggle them over border, Texas officials say
A mother accused of strapping bundles of drugs to her 13-year-old son to smuggle them across the border was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, according to a news release.
The 31-year-old woman, a resident of the United States, was attempting to smuggle 2.25 pounds of methamphetamine and 1.10 pounds of fentanyl from Mexico to El Paso, authorities said.
The woman and her children, including two other siblings, ages 12 and 5, were driving through the Ysleta Port of Entry in El Paso just before 7 a.m. on Oct. 21. Officers had selected the vehicle for a second inspection, which is where a drug sniffing dog alerted CBP officers to the 13-old boy, in the front passenger seat. Officers then noticed that the boy “had a square shaped item protruding from his back,” the release said.
“Smugglers will use any method they can to attempt to smuggle drugs,” said CBP Ysleta Port Director Arnoldo Gomez, according to the release. “Unfortunately, in this case, a mother used her 13-year-old son in her attempt to deceive CBP Officers.”
The mother was then arrested and faces charges for the “failed smuggling attempt,” the news release said.
The three children were put in the care of a family member.
This story was originally published October 28, 2020 at 5:44 PM.