Sean Holstege of the Arizona Republic has a report on the tactics used by Mexican Human Smugglers to divert their cash to prevent apprehension.

From the Arizona Republic:

Mexican human-smuggling rings are sidestepping Arizona’s campaign to choke off their pipeline of illegal cash as they collect billions of dollars for sneaking illegal immigrants into the state.

Arizona investigators crack down, and the smugglers counter, shifting where and how they collect payments from illegal immigrants. The two sides repeat their sparring, like two grand masters mapping out their paths on a chessboard.

The cartels’ shifting tactics show how the smuggling of people increasingly has become an organized business. Typically, a Mexican immigrant pays a smuggler $1,500 to $2,000 in fees, paying a portion up front to reach and then cross the Mexico border. Then a coyote takes the immigrant to a drophouse in Phoenix and holds him or her hostage until the final balance is wired from a friend or relative in the U.S.