Four arrested in Phoenix in human smuggling, extortion

By Danika Worthington and Elizabeth Riecken The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team Tue Nov 5, 2013 1:49 PM

Four people were arrested on suspicion of human smuggling at a Phoenix home near 69th Avenue and Camelback Road.

Mariantonieta Cantua Alvarado, 49, David Noe Sapien, 24, Jesus German-Zapien, 23, and Jose Hernandez-Padres, 23 face additional potential charges involving theft by extortion and kidnapping, possession of fire arms and possession of narcotic drugs for sale.

Two people paid the group for passage from Mexico to the United States, police said. But once in Tucson after walking for over a week, the terms changed and the four demanded more money from the two, which they could not afford, according to court documents.

Detective Steve Berry, a Mesa police spokesman, said one of the victims called a relative who lives in Mesa to explain her plight. The relative called Mesa police, who raided the house early Friday morning without incident. Police worked with federal authorities to determine the identities of the people inside and whether they were inside the U.S. legally.

The Phoenix house in the 6900 block of West Highland Street belongs to Mario Florez-Sapien, 45. Florez-Sapien also was arrested on suspicion of possession of narcotic drugs for sale. The group attempted to extort money from the mother of one of the two people kidnapped, who had already wired German-Zapien $300 for the initial crossing, court documents state.

Hernandez-Padre had a handgun and threatened the two who were kidnapped that he would sell them to another human smuggling crew, according to the documents.

Police found six pounds of heroin and 160 grams of cocaine at the home where Alvarado, Hernandez-Padres and Flores Sapien live, according to the document. German-Zapien and Sapien are in the country illegally, police said.

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