It is reported that Mexican cartels smuggle an estimated $64 billion of narcotics into the United States every year — and one of the busiest drug trafficking corridors is located in the Louisville area.

Now, the I-65 corridor, which runs from Mexico all the way to Chicago, is the location of the newest 60 Days In spinoff, 60 Days In: Narcoland.

The premise for the new A&E series, which is produced by Lucky 8, will remain the same — place undercover participants into a jail to put a spotlight on the drug trade — but Narcoland will also feature participants out on the street, working to uncover how the cartels are operating in the community at large.

"But when you take the same approach out into the real world and allow the participants to chart their own path — like we did on this project — there are infinite possibilities, and we really need to expect the unexpected in every scenario."

"We have to be prepared for anything and everything. Filming inside corrections facilities, we have our list of potential risks, and our team preps accordingly," executive producer Greg Henry told Distractify exclusively.

This time around, cameras will be following participants, which include an investigative journalist, an addiction specialist, and two recovering addicts, inside the Indiana's Clark County Jail and outside, in locations throughout Bullitt County, Ky.

Are participants paid for appearing on 60 Days In: Narcoland?

It takes a lot to willingly place yourself behind bars, which is why many fans of the show believe that participants must be paid excessively for putting their life at risk. However, EP Greg Henry makes it clear that participants are motivated by more than money.

Source: Courtesy: Lucky 8

"They are not paid but are compensated for lost wages, as they are going into a working correctional facility 24/7. That said, most important to us when casting these series is that we find individuals with genuine motivations for tackling the subject matter at hand," he explained. "These are not series for people who simply want their family and friends to see them on TV."

In fact, this time around, Lucky 8 producers looked for participants who had "personal connections to the issues being addressed."