Imagine living a life of fear. You spend your days avoiding the drug cartel and areas where they may be lurking. You try to keep your daughters and wife away from danger, and you know you're doing the best you can.

However, one day as you're driving to school, you are stopped by the border patrol. When your car is searched, authorities find two duffle bags of marijuana in your trunk -- 50 pounds of drugs in total. You are charged with possession with intent to distribute. Although you insist you knew nothing about the drugs, you spend six months in jail waiting for your trial.

If you take a guilty plea, your sentence would be minimized. However, since you know you had nothing to do with the drugs, you wait for the trial. During the trial, you are convicted of the drug crimes and sentenced to prison.

While you are spending time in prison, the judge who heard your case heard other cases that had striking similarities with your case. The judge notified the FBI, and an investigation began immediately. The judge dismissed the case against you that same day.

Further investigation revealed exactly what was going on. Among other things, the investigation proved that you and the others who were imprisoned were completely innocent. Like you, several other people unknowingly brought drugs across the border, and were subsequently arrested and convicted of drug charges.

Read more in our upcoming blog post to learn how the drug cartel planted the drugs and completed their operations.

Source: CNN, "'Blind mules' unknowingly ferry drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border," Emily Smith, Jan. 24, 2012