Prosecutors in one Arizona county are charging underage kids who smuggle illicit drugs in their bodies from Mexico into the United States as adults.
The Los Angeles Times reports the designation by law enforcement in Cochise County is part of a plan to stop drug cartels from using children as drug mules. And it's working.
Under the county's "Operation Immediate Consequences," some 51 juveniles have been charged as adults with drug trafficking in the past year, according to The Times.
They are offered 18 months in an adult prison if they plead guilty.
Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre told the newspaper some defendants begin to sob as they're told they won't be let free under the new regulations.
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