Thread: More Than 50 People Found Inside Drop House

Published June 29, 2010|Associated Press

PHOENIX -- Phoenix police and the Department of Public Safety are investigating the discovery of a drop house in southwest Phoenix.

DPS spokesman Bart Graves told The Associated Press Tuesday that Phoenix police followed a suspicious looking Chevrolet pickup truck with a large piece of plywood in the truck bed.
Smugglers often use plywood to hide people in truck beds.

The driver and another occupant drove to a house in a newer Phoenix neighborhood near 83rd Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road.

Police followed and when they got to the house, officers discovered 46 men and seven women inside.
They were described as thirsty but in relatively good shape. It's unclear how long the group had been inside the U.S.

Graves said police are trying to determine if a smuggler or smugglers is mixed in with the group.

you forgot to add the lnik to the story

Phoenix drophouse found with more than 50 Guatemalans inside

41 comments
by Kyle Daly - Jun. 29, 2010 03:56 PM
The Arizona Republic

More than 50 people suspected to be in the country illegally were handed over to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement after police discovered a drophouse in a southwest Phoenix neighborhood, a Department of Public Safety official said.

Just before noon Tuesday, two Phoenix police officers were driving in the area of 83rd Avenue and West Buckeye Road when they noticed a suspicious Chevrolet pickup carrying a bed full of plywood, said Bart Graves of DPS.


Graves said there have been cases where human smugglers have hidden people beneath plywood in truck beds.

The officers lost track of the vehicle when it sped off but soon found it parked in front of a house on 82nd Avenue, Graves said.

As the officers approached the driver, who had gotten out of the truck, the garage door opened and a man in a white T-shirt sprinted out. The officers chased the man into the backyard, grabbing him as he tried to scale a block wall, Graves said.

Investigators found 44 males and seven females living inside the house. The group included at least six children under the age of 12. All of them were Guatemalan citizens.

The house was a "big mess," Graves said, with food and trash everywhere. But the people inside were fully clothed and in good condition.

"They were thirsty, but they seemed to be fed recently," Graves said.

Authorities suspect people in the house were paying smugglers between $2,500 and $7,000.

Two suspects were taken in for questioning, Graves said.

Investigators are trying to find out who the suspects were working for and if they are connected with other drophouses in the area.

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