But life didn't begin in the smuggling trade for Zeki.
Berhe, they say, was in fact a jobless refugee with no involvement in the smuggling business.
"There is growing evidence that the cigarette manufacturers are involved in the smuggling".
The boy was not sent back because he is considered a witness in the smuggling case.
"Sometimes in the smuggling operations the boys get raped by older smugglers.
Some of those involved today in the smuggling are the children of those we knew about in the eighties.
He has said there was no way she would be willingly involved in the smuggling of drugs.
But Bedouin tribes involved in the smuggling business said that the military's raids did little to disrupt their trade.
Historically, hawala networks have played a vital role in the smuggling of gold from Europe to India, through Dubai.
Corruption is rife, with many officials implicated in the smuggling of Iraq's subsidised petrol to its neighbours.
Burrowing from one country to the other happens elsewhere along the border, particularly in the smuggling zone around Tijuana.
