Fentanyl smuggling involves pawns, also known as mules. U.S. citizens and Mexican nationals with permanent U.S. residency are often those charged with bringing drugs across the border. These couriers are often desperate for the money and take up the task despite a possible 5- to 20-year prison sentence.
Victor Avila, a retired special agent with Homeland Security Investigations-ICE, tells NTD that cartels use social media to recruit and more Border Patrol K9s should be employed to prevent the deadly opioid from entering the United States.
