Border Patrol: 51 people detained, 5 smugglers arrested after Mission raid

Border Patrol: 51 people detained, 5 smugglers arrested after Mission raid

BY CBS 4 NEWS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5TH 2016

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Investigators detained 51 people and arrested five smugglers Monday after raiding an apartment complex in Mission. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Customs and Border Protection)

Investigators detained 51 people and arrested five smugglers Monday after raiding an apartment complex in Mission.

U.S. Border Patrol, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office searched two apartments Monday afternoon in Mission, according to a news release from Border Patrol.

They arrested five Mexican smugglers and detained 51 people -- citizens of Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala -- who weren't legally present in the United States.

Border Patrol described the conditions in both apartments as "deplorable."

Agents with Homeland Security Investigations, a division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, have started working to identify and shut down the criminal organization responsible for the stash house.

News Release from U.S. Border Patrol
MISSION, Texas – Border Patrol agents received information regarding two apartments being used as stash houses on Monday afternoon. The smugglers, five Mexican nationals, were arrested.
Agents, in collaboration with Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Public Safety, obtained consent to search the apartments. Inside the filthy apartments, agents arrested a total of 56 people who admitted to being in the United States illegally. Five of the Mexican nationals admitted to being the smugglers.

The immigrants were from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. All subjects were transported to the McAllen Border Patrol Station and processed accordingly. The smugglers, two men and three women, have been referred for prosecution.

The public is encouraged to take a stand against crime in their communities and to help save lives by reporting suspicious activity at 800-863-9382.

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