As Brazilians flock to the U.S. border, an alleged smuggler cashes in

FILE PHOTO: Brazilian citizen Chelbe Willams Moraes writes on a document as he is expulsed from Paraguay, in an unknown location, June 7, 2021. Courtesy of Direccion General De Migraciones ? Paraguay/Handout via REUTERS

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil (Reuters) - Record numbers of Brazilians have been arrested at the U.S. southern border this year, part of the United States' broader migration crisis. Police believe a child-custody dispute has led them to one of the smugglers moving migrants north.

In early June, Brazilian federal police arrested Chelbe Moraes, a businessman who had allegedly absconded with his three-year-old daughter when he lost custody to his ex-partner. After tapping the phones of Moraes' associates, the officers began to suspect he was a veteran people smuggler, or "coyote."