EL PASO , Texas ( CNN ) -- Sitting in high school , math and history lessons never captured Danny Santos ' imagination . The drug-fueled streets of the Texas-Mexico border provided his education , and he was an excellent student . Danny Santos , 21 , works two part-time jobs and still does n't make as much as he did as a drug mule . Santos says he became one of the thousands of American and Mexican teenagers recruited into the dangerous world of drug smuggling . `` I did n't care . I had no conscience , '' Santos said at a boxing gym in El Paso , Texas . `` You 're young , and you 're naïve , and you think it 's easy . '' Santos ' journey into the underworld of teenage drug smuggling offers a glimpse into how drug cartels lure teenagers into doing their dirty work . US . Customs and Border Protection officials in El Paso and San Diego report that in recent months , they 've seen a rise in the number of juvenile drug smugglers getting busted at border checkpoints . They 're often called mules . These teenagers are usually hired only to smuggle drug loads across the border . It 's a short drive or walk that offers quick cash but can carry serious consequences . Watch how teens get drugs across the border » . Drug cartels `` just need someone who can legitimately cross the border , '' said Bill Molaski , the El Paso Port Director for U.S. Customs and Border Protection . As an American , Santos could freely cross the El Paso-Juarez border and not raise suspicion . At age 15 , Santos says , he met `` a guy '' at a party who introduced him to drug kingpins in Ciudad Juarez , Mexico . `` You start off as a driver , '' Santos said . `` People feel like they can trust you , then you move up to something bigger . '' Two weeks later , he got a $ 4,000 job offer to drive his first load of marijuana across a bridge into El Paso . It was the beginning of a four-year smuggling career . `` I ca n't say I was n't nervous , '' Santos said . `` You kind of project yourself into another time of happiness or joy . ... You just have to forget you have something illegal in the car . '' In all , Santos says , he earned $ 50,000 making about 20 mule runs , driving right through heavily guarded border checkpoints . Santos , who is now 21 , says he was arrested once but spent only a few days in jail . He said charges were dropped . Because he was younger than 18 when he was arrested , and juvenile cases are sealed , CNN could not confirm his story through court records . Young smugglers do n't fit a stereotype . Several sources said that both American and Mexican teens are lured into the work . Teenage boys and girls alike are involved . Many smugglers come from middle-class families . `` There 's a lot of money in the trade , a lot of inducement for a lot of young people to get involved , '' El Paso County Attorney Jose Rodriguez said . His office is responsible for prosecuting juvenile smugglers . Federal and state authorities say drug cartels recruit young smugglers from schools . Depending on the size of the drug load that 's being smuggled , a kid can be paid a couple hundred dollars up to $ 5,000 . Mexican officials say cartels have placed classified advertisements in Mexican newspapers with cryptic messages offering young people a job with good salary and benefits . A phone number is included in the ad . The officials say a cartel member sets up a meeting to determine whether the kid is up to the job . But Rodriguez offers a chilling reason why teenagers should avoid the lure of easy money . `` We had a kid here who lost a load and had some of his toes chopped off , '' Rodriguez said . Santos says he got out of the smuggling business two years ago . Now he spends every day training at a boxing gym in El Paso . Boxing and smuggling can both be vicious worlds , but at least boxing is legal . However , it 's a slow climb to the top of the boxing world . He 's chasing the golden dreams of boxing championships and hoping to make more money boxing than he did smuggling . Santos is working two part-time jobs , and he says it takes him two months to earn the money that he used to make in one day of drug smuggling . He spent almost all the money he made smuggling . But he has no regrets . `` The peace of mind is good , '' Santos said after a bruising workout . `` I sleep good , eat good . I feel better now . ''
Danny Santos , 21 , says he made $ 5,000 in four years as a drug mule . Santos smuggled drugs across U.S. border from U.S. , Santos . He was arrested once , as a juvenile , but said charges were dropped . U.S. now works thousands part-time jobs as trains as a boxer .