California woman accused of using Oregon teen as drug mule

LAFAYETTE COUNTY, Mo. (WDAF/CNN) – A Missouri state trooper making a routine traffic stop looked into the car and knew something was off. Now, a woman is behind bars accused of making a teenager a drug mule.

Thousands of cars pass through Missouri on I-70 daily. This week, a Missouri Highway Patrol trooper pulled over a new Jeep in Lafayette County.

Sergeant Andrew Bell with the Missouri State Highway Patrol explained, “There was some odor of marijuana, so there was some criminal activity occurring, but the trooper knew that there was a much, much bigger case involved.”

Court records say the driver, 22-year-old Brenda Alcaraz of California, had a 15-year-old girl with her. The teen, who had no ID, and Alcaraz had conflicting stories about how they knew each other.

Sgt. Bell said, “Come to find out she had been ‘exploited,’ if you will, to transport illegal methamphetamine from the west coast to the east coast.”

For days, the teen was forced to wear bandages strapping five-and-half pounds of crystal meth to her rib cage.

It might not sound like a lot, but that amount of drugs is valued at roughly $130,000.

“She thinks she is going to gain something of value, money, for doing these services, which she has no idea what it could lead to something extremely dangerous,” Sgt. Bell said. “She could potentially lose her life.”

The Missouri Highway Patrol is in the middle of a ramped-up campaign to fight human trafficking, which started in 2017. This year alone, 200 troopers have gotten specialized training.
The patrol’s investigated 117 incidents leading to 25 arrests and 17 victims recovered.

Sarah Zollner works with dozens of trafficking victims through an organization called Rended Heart in the metro. She said, “There really is no socio-economic, geographic break down to this. We see it all over.”

She said many victims get lured in because they have family issues leaving them without the ability to understand healthy boundaries. Rended Heart works to meet victims where they are.

“Where people are in that journey is always a little bit different,” Zollner explained. “But our goal is just to build relationships with them and let them know there is another way to live life, and that that’s possible.”

The 15-year-old is now back home with family in Oregon.

Alcaraz is facing felony drug and child endangerment charges.

Police continue to look for anyone she might be connected to in drug trafficking.