From the AP:

MESA – Human smugglers have built sophisticated criminal enterprises generating an estimated $2.5 billion annually through their Arizona operations alone, authorities say.

Working in league with Mexican drug cartels, human smuggling kingpins have set up networks of drivers, warehouse operators, distribution specialists and enforcers to move their loads from northern Sonora through the Phoenix metropolitan area and to their final destinations throughout the United States.

The smugglers, or “coyotes,” call the immigrants “pollos” – chickens – human cargo without value beyond what it can bring on the open market, the East Valley Tribune reported in a series on the human smuggling industry.

“The people we are dealing with are well-organized, very well-armed, and apparently will stop at nothing to maximize their profit from human beings. That includes examples of severe brutality and murder. It makes the drug business look almost good by comparison,” said Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, whose agency has gone after the money generated by human smuggling rings.

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