Crime & Justice
Border Filmmaker Documents Cartel Operating $70,000 Per Person Smuggling Routes from India
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Danger Close | The Fourth Option Podcast: Peter Santenello
"There's an Indian family, about 15 of them, in the desert. They flew Delhi, Mexico City, Mexico City, Mexicali. Cartel picks him up at the airport. They're paying roughly upwards of $70 grand a person. It's a package tour. Give them a phone. When you get to the U.S. side, call 911."
During peak border chaos in 2023, Santenello filmed an Indian family of 15 being smuggled across the Arizona border by cartels in a sophisticated operation costing up to $70,000 per person. The cartel-run system included flights from Delhi through Mexico, ground transport to border gaps, and instructions to call 911 once on U.S. soil, where overwhelmed Border Patrol would process them into the interior.
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