TEXAS: Federal agents secretly watched a Nissan Altima with Mexican license plates and a family of four inside pulled into the parking lot of Northline Commons shopping centre in north Houston.
Two small children were riding in the back of the tan sedan, as were 15 pounds of Mexico-made methamphetamine that was stashed in a hidden compartment in the floorboard.
The family had driven into Texas from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, the day before without drawing the attention of U.S. border inspectors. But luck ran out in Houston, where Homeland Security Investigations agents said they were tipped that drug traffickers were using a family to sneak a load here.
If federal authorities have it right, the attempt to smuggle enough methamphetamine for 67,000 doses follows a trend of smugglers along the U.S.-Mexico border using children, even their own relatives, as camouflage.
The idea is that while traveling with children, border inspectors might be less inclined to think they are breaking the law.
“Unfortunately, smugglers will use children in their attempts to blend in with legitimate traffic and avoid suspicion,” said Beverly Good, director of Customs and Border Patrol operations in El Paso.
Inspectors know that smugglers sometimes use children or entire families to try to throw off suspicion, she said.
Federal authorities said they don’t have readily available statistics on how often smugglers are caught using unsuspecting children, but court records highlight recent cases along the border.
In El Paso, Claudia Hernandez Rodriguez was caught by CBP inspectors as she tried to drive into the U.S. Two children, 3 and 12, were in her sedan, as well as nearly 8 pounds of cocaine hidden under the back seat, according to court documents.
A federal judge ordered last week that Hernandez, of Ciudad Juarez, be held without bail on drug-trafficking charges. She is believed to be the mother of at least one of the children, who were released to family in Mexico.
