April 30 (UPI) — Border officers in Arizona prevented a possible child-trafficking attempt recently, federal officials said Wednesday.
Earlier at the same port, officers apprehended a man with alleged child porn in a separate incident, officials also announced Wednesday.
In the alleged child-trafficking incident, a 23-year-old woman — a Mexican citizen and legal permanent U.S. resident — was arrested Tuesday after CBP officers say she was allegedly attempting to smuggle into the United States a 5-year-old Mexican boy, according to U.S. Customs and Border officials at Arizona’s port of San Luis.
The unidentified female was stopped at about 3 a.m. local time driving a 2013 Chevrolet sedan with the young boy in a deep sleep in the vehicle’s rear.
According to officials, she presented a U.S. birth certificate for the child, who was in an “abnormally deep sleep and did not appear to be the age as indicated,” and claimed to be his mother during a primary examination.
CBP officials discovered that there was no family relationship between the child — a Mexican citizen with no valid entry documents — and the woman who claimed to be his mother. They further determined that the boy’s birth certificate, while a legitimate document, did not belong to him.
A February 2017 report suggested that cases of human trafficking in the United States spiked more than 35% in 2016 vs. 2015.
According to border officers, the woman stated that she had given sleep sedatives to the minor prior to the attempted crossing to assist in evading detection.
“Sedating children is a dangerous and common tactic we see utilized by human smugglers attempting to avoid detection through our ports of entry,” said Chris Leon, area port director for San Luis.
She is now in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
More than 5 million children around the world were susceptible to trafficking and exploitation, the international children’s charity Lumos said in 2021.
In 2016, the FBI rescued nearly 100 exploited children and, arrested more than 200 in a large sex trafficking sting that later expanded to Canada, Cambodia, the Philippines and Thailand.
“Our CBP officers are up to date on emerging smuggling trends and committed to safeguarding our borders, especially when it comes to the protection of children,” Leon stated Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in another case that reportedly took place last week but was reported Wednesday, an unidentified man was, likewise, taken into custody at the port of San Luis allegedly in possession of “obscene material” or what was also described as “child pornography,” officials added.
On Thursday, CBP officers encountered the man, a 27-year-old Mexican citizen, at about 8 a.m. local time while trying to enter the United States via Mexico.
He possessed a B1/B2 visa, but was referred for further examination due to a “possibility” of being in violation of his visa status.
While in the secondary inspection area, border officers performed an in-depth search of the suspect’s belongings, which they added resulted in the discovery of “child pornography material.”
“This apprehension involving obscene material exploiting children emphasizes the importance of CBP’s mission and commitment to keeping our communities safe,” Leon wrote in a separate release.
