“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat
A woman from Cross Lanes, West Virginia, faces seven felony charges in connection with alleged human smuggling in Cochise County, Arizona.
Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels said she traveled there, working with the Mexican cartel to smuggle five migrants across the Mexican-American border. Dannels said cartels target young adults and juveniles through social media to help with smuggling efforts.
“From TikTok to Snapchat, we have examples of it in our office,” Dannels said.
Dannels said 23-year-old Logan Casto was involved in a pursuit traveling more than 110 mph, hoping to make her way out of Cochise County. Deputies said they used spike strips to help stop Casto’s vehicle, and she did not make it.
“They get their instructions, they give them a call, whatever. It may be they come to Cochise County. They wait until told to go to a certain spot near the border pick up the migrants or the drugs and then their number one ultimate goal is to get out of Cochise County,” Dannels said.
Casto, who’s from Kanawha County, is one of more than 2,700 people Cochise County deputies have arrested for border-related crimes since March of 2022.
“If you are thinking about coming to or coming anywhere on the southwest border to partake in international crime dealing with ruthless criminals, the cartels, think twice — don’t come,” Dannels said.
He said one of the biggest hurdles they face is social media.
“We know what they are doing. We have tried to address social media through congressional meetings, through the federal level state level. Sadly, nobody wants to touch that,” Dannels said. “We have had people tell us they have made over a half a million dollars in Cochise County just smuggling human beings, which I call modern day slavery.”
