"Every morning for the past two months, a husband and wife from Tijuana have started their border commute by inspecting their vehicle. First, the husband checks the trunk, then he checks the underside of their SUV, which is usually parked overnight on the street of their gated neighborhood. At one point, they had browsed Amazon looking for a long-handled mirror to make it easier to search underneath the vehicle. Whatever it takes to make sure there are no drugs or people hidden inside."
"The use of blind mules to sneak drugs into the U.S. is not a new tactic and it's also not one that is often publicly acknowledged by U.S. law enforcement. But in recent months, authorities on both sides of the border have issued warnings to frequent border-crossers about the potential danger. In Tijuana, police have been highlighting cases of drivers who have realized something is amiss before they've reached the border crossing."
A Tijuana couple inspects their SUV every morning to ensure no drugs or people are hidden inside after a neighbor found a GPS device attached to her car. Traffickers may be attempting to track cross-border habits to turn drivers into unwitting smugglers known as blind mules. Authorities on both sides of the border have started issuing warnings to frequent crossers and highlighting cases where drivers noticed tampering before reaching crossings. U.S. Customs and Border Protection in San Diego has sought to raise awareness of blind-mule drug and human trafficking, though comprehensive tracking of such cases is lacking.
Read at www.sandiegouniontribune.com
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