Authorities Warn Cartels Are Recruiting American Teens As Human Smugglers

Two American teenagers were arrested in Arizona on Friday for allegedly smuggling migrants across the US-Mexico border, the Cochise County Sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.

The Cochise County Sheriff’s office reported that five undocumented migrants were allegedly discovered in the vehicle of Eli LaClaire, 19, and Landon Vert, 18. They were booked on human smuggling charges while the migrants were turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol, according to the post.

Cartels are reportedly using social media platforms like WhatsApp and TikTok to recruit young Americans, including teenagers, for smuggling activities, according to the New York Post. Authorities say that people from various states, including Georgia, New York, Washington State, Virginia, and Florida, have been drawn into these operations. (RELATED: Human Trafficker Says Cartels Harvest Children’s Organs And Stuff Drugs In Their Corpses: REPORT)