22 illegal immigrants, including children, found in South Side drop house
Police were investigating suspected drug house
By Alexis Huicochea
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.24.2008
More than 20 people including three children were found in a drop house on the South Side late Wednesday, police said.
Authorities from the Counter Narcotics Alliance were investigating a home in the 5400 block of South Via Florena Road — near South Country Club and East Drexel roads — for possible drug activity when the discovery was made, according to Sgt. Fabian Pacheco, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.
The CNA received a tip that a lot of traffic was coming and going from the home in short periods of time and that many of the vehicle bore Mexican license plates, according to Sgt. Mark Morlock of the CNA.
Around 7:30 p.m., authorities went to the home and knocked on the front door at which time several people tried to jump out of windows and run out of a back door, Morlock said.
All were caught and a total of 22 illegal immigrants from Mexico were turned over to Customs and Border Protection, Morlock said. The immigrants consisted of six women, three children under the age of 10, and 13 men.
No injuries were reported, Morlock said. The house had running water and electricity but the air conditioner was not working so the home was very hot.
“Some of the people that we spoke with said they had been there for a day or less and weren’t going to be there for much longer,â€