Inhabitants of Culiacán collect remittances from migrants without being related, a phenomenon that is on the rise
For each shipment of money collected, they were paid 300 pesos. Each consignment consisted of amounts between 12 and 14 thousand pesos.
For 10 years, remittance income has increased by 90.6% in Mexico. Between January and September of this year, 37,333 million dollars entered and it is expected that by the end of the year they will add a record figure of 50 billion dollars. It is money that has been very important for families in Mexico, but in Culiacán, Sinaloa, a disturbing phenomenon is being reported. Those who are going to collect the remittances are not relatives of migrants who support part of their wages.
“A friend of a friend spoke to me and told me if I wanted to receive a deposit and that they were going to give me money for a certain amount,” said Roberto.
Roberto lives in Culiacán. He was part of a small network of 10 friends who received money transfers from the United States, although none of the members of the group had relatives in that country who would send them money.
The modus operandi, he explains, was simple, even the organizer of this network took them to make the charges.
“When I was going, we would go from four to six, those of us who could fit in a car. He would arrive at Bancoppel and tell them that he had to withdraw a shipment. I presented my IFE to him, he gave the code, they gave me the money. I gave it to the person and that same person gave me the commission.
He says that for each remittance of money collected they paid him 300 pesos. Each consignment consisted of amounts between 12 and 14 thousand pesos.
“It was about two to three times a month. They just asked me for my voter ID, my name and nothing else they spoke to me and asked me to pick it up. They gave me a tracking number or code ”, highlighted Roberto.
Andrés also lives in Culiacán. They proposed to him to receive the shipments through deposit in a bank account.
“In my case it was that an acquaintance approached and they simply told you if you want to earn money. And one already asks him: money? How? They are going to send you a fair, some money. They will send it to your card, you charge it, you give it to us and that’s all. They are going to give you a part, a commission for getting that money ”, said Andrés.
Inhabitants of Culiacán collect remittances from migrants without being related, a phenomenon that is on the rise.
In his case, the commission was higher: he was paid 500 pesos for each deposit.
“Acquaintances pull acquaintances because you still earn money in minutes. In a hurry that I had in my health home and I needed money now and they spoke to me, they told me and I said yes, I use the money and that’s it, ”Andres reiterated.
Through social networks, in groups in Culiacán, people are recruited to collect remittances, according to the employees of companies where shipments are received, this activity is simple.
Nothing more than you have your identification, your address, because the person who is going to send you will ask for your address since the money is here only your identification.
Although the city of Culiacán is not considered as an expulsion zone for migrants, it is the sixth city in the country in attracting remittances. From January to September of this year, it received $ 318 million in shipments from the United States. In addition, Sinaloa is the third state in the country with the lowest growth in receiving remittances, only below Baja California and Puebla.
“It is true that Culiacán does not have a high migratory intensity but the state of Sinaloa does. Of course, there may be something on a very small scale, this type of operation is called smurfing, but I don’t think they mostly explain a money laundering issue for these reasons, ”said Carlos Serrano, BBVA Chief Economist.
Monica assures that she also collected shipments. He maintains that he did not know who was sending the money or the destination it was given in Culiacán to whom it was delivered, for all this there is suspicion that many of the remittances that arrive in Culiacán are actually intended for members of organized crime.
“It came in our name, it was through Coppel or through Banco Azteca and we just had to go with the number they gave us as a deposit, with our credential and it was already very simple, to get there, we gave the number and they gave us the money,” he concluded Monica.
Although the city of Culiacán is not considered as an expulsion zone for migrants, it is the sixth city in the country in attracting remittances. From January to September of this year, it received $ 318 million in shipments from the United States. In addition, Sinaloa is the third state in the country with the lowest growth in receiving remittances, only below Baja California and Puebla.
“It is true that Culiacán does not have a high migratory intensity but the state of Sinaloa does. Of course, there may be something on a very small scale, this type of operation is called smurfing, but I don’t think they mostly explain a money laundering issue for these reasons, ”said Carlos Serrano, BBVA Chief Economist.
Monica assures that she also collected shipments. He maintains that he did not know who was sending the money or the destination it was given in Culiacán to whom it was delivered, for all this there is a suspicion that many of the remittances that arrive in Culiacán are actually intended for members of organized crime.
With information from Raymundo Pérez Arellano
