Arizona indictment: 22 used social media to recruit migrant smugglers

A federal indictment charges 22 people who investigators say used social media to recruit people-smugglers in Arizona, officials said.

The United States Attorney’s Office District of Arizona announced the unsealing of 13 indictments earlier this week. They charge a total of 22 people with conspiracy to transport illegal migrants  for profit, a news release said.

Each indictment alleges a "human smuggling coordinator" used social media, such as Snapchat, to recruit people in Arizona to transport undocumented individuals. After recruiting the drivers, the coordinators would then switch to a messenger application, like WhatsApp, to coordinate the logistics, the news release said.

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“Smuggling coordinators often recruit juveniles and young adults as drivers with social media posts that glamorize alien smuggling,” the news release said. “Many of the posts claim drivers can make large sums of money without the risk of being arrested.”

A conviction carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release, the news release said.