A traffic stop in Pinal County last week interrupted the alleged smuggling of an 8-year-old boy from Mexico into the U.S., authorities say.
The incident started about 10 p.m. Jan. 7, when law enforcement officers in Cochise County were notified of a vehicle possibly involved in a smuggling incident that was traveling through the area.
A traffic stop was eventually conducted by a multi-agency task force. The driver was traveling with her daughter and an 8-year-old boy. Authorities said the boy was unable to answer basic questions about the woman nor about their travels.
The vehicle was temporarily seized while it was searched for narcotics, and the woman got a motel room in Eloy, the Cochise County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.
"During the vehicle search, federal partners researched the woman further. Officers from the task force called the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office to contact the woman, suspecting she may be involved in trafficking children for the cartel," the release said. "When PCSO deputies contacted the woman, her story made no sense. Deputies believed the boy appeared to be coached in his responses."
Pinal County Deputy Greg Sanders, middle, talks about his role in the interception last week of an alleged smuggling effort of an 8-year-old boy from Mexico into Arizona. Sanders is standing between Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels (left) and Pinal County Sheriff Ross Teeple, who joined him Friday for a news conference about the case.
During an interview, the woman admitted to receiving $500 to bring the boy across the border and was awaiting information on where to take him.
“This sicko that was trafficking him didn’t even know his parents, didn’t know his family, was just getting paid to bring this boy up to the United States…to have horrible things done to him,” Pinal County Sheriff Ross Teeple said during a news conference Friday. “The cartels realize that they can only sell a fentanyl pill one time, but they can sell a child, a human being, over and over again.”
Pinal County Deputy Greg Sanders, who initially made contact with the child, was able to separate the boy from the woman. The boy was given candy, watched a police dog play. Authorities said he appeared in good health and was uninjured.
“Nothing can top finding an 8-year-old child, right?” Sanders said. “Finding that child and being able to rescue them from that situation is the most rewarding thing that any law enforcement officer could ever do.”
In going through the woman’s phone, authorities found evidence indicating she knew she was smuggling the boy.
“Folks, this is a sad story with a successful ending,” Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels said at the news conference. “This is only the front door of where we want to go with this. This investigation is not over . . . it will continue because we need to get these sickos off the street.”
This was apparently not the woman’s first run-in with the law concerning smuggling accusations, authorities said.
The woman, who was not identified Friday, has been taken into federal custody, and criminal charges are pending, authorities said.
An effort to find the boy’s family and reunite them has been started.
