Authorities announced last Thursday that several adults were taken into custody after a months-long human trafficking investigation of a suspected Mexican cartel operation which forced children to work at a local restaurant as payment for being smuggled into the United States from Mexico.
Reportedly, four minors were trafficked illegally into the U.S. by Mexican drug cartel members who brought them through Arizona before sending them to Smithville, TN and forcing them to work at Chabelita’s Restaurant and Market to pay off their smuggling and housing costs.
The investigation began when one of the children came to the Smithville Police Department (SPD) after running away from the restaurant and telling detectives the owners had forced her into child labor trafficking and mistreated her. SPD then contacted the DeKalb Sheriff’s Department, and together the agencies launched a 3-month investigation.
