(Reuters) - Sheriff's deputies in Arizona have arrested eight men charged with being scouts for Mexican drug cartels and using hilltop lookouts to monitor drug shipments and illegal immigrants being smuggled through the border area, authorities say. The Pinal County Sheriff's Office said in a statement on Monday that the operation began in February when a K-9 unit stopped a driver who admitted being paid to carry large amounts of food and fuel to cartel "spotters" or "scouts" nearby. "The scouts would use the high vantage locations on hilltops and mountains and communicate with the guides and members of the Mexican drug cartels to let them know when law enforcement was in the area," the statement said. "They communicated by using cell phones and digitally encrypted radios." The sheriff's office said the area is used by Mexican drug cartels, especially the Sinaloa organization, as an important corridor for shipments because of the county's rugged terrain and proximity to two interstate highways.

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