More juveniles caught smuggling drugs than usual

Three juvenile drug smugglers were arrested this week at El Paso port of entries.

Officials with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said three of the marijuana busts they made involved people age 17 or younger.

On Wednesday, a 16-year-old El Paso boy had 22 pounds of marijuana hidden in the vehicle he was driving, said CBP officers. He was arrested by El Paso County constables.

On Saturday, CBP officers working at the Bridge of the Americas found about three pounds of marijuana attached to the body of a 17-year-old El Paso boy.

At the Columbus port of entry authorities found two pounds of marijuana hidden in the back pack of a 14-year-old boy from Palomas, Mexico on Tuesday.

"The number of juvenile drug smugglers we apprehended this week is greater than we typically see. Usually we average about three to four cases per month," said Christopher Saindon, acting CBP El Paso Director of Field Operations.

CBP officers working in the El Paso area routinely recorded between 100-150 juvenile drug smuggling apprehensions a decade ago. During fiscal year 2010 the number dropped to 40.