Thread: 22 alleged gang members accused of running Houston brothels filled with undocumented

22 alleged gang members accused of running Houston brothels filled with undocumented immigrants

By Gabrielle Banks, Houston Chronicle and Keri Blakinger

By Gabrielle Banks, Houston Chronicle and Keri Blakinger
Updated 9:15 pm, Wednesday, November 8, 2017



More than a dozen suspected members of a ruthless Houston street gang accused of tattooing their sex trafficking victims are behind bars, charged by federal authorities with everything from smuggling immigrants to illegal firearms sales and drug trafficking.

The violent Southwest Cholos crew, which boasts members with street names like "Pantera" and "Troubles", preyed on undocumented immigrants who were forced to work in brothels around Houston and in Mexico, prosecutors say.

The gang ran a transnational criminal network stretching from a Houston apartment complex, to towns along the Texas-Mexico border to the Mexican resort of Cancun, according to 37-count criminal indictment unsealed late Wednesday.

Ten suspects made initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy K. Johnson on Tuesday and Wednesday, most shackled in the casual street clothes they were wearing at the time of their arrests. The majority are set to reappear before the judge on Thursday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Goldman told the judge he considers them all flight risks and requested they be held in detention without bond, pending a hearing.

Twelve suspects were arrested Tuesday, on top of two already in custody. Another eight are still at large and being sought by the FBI.

22 alleged gang members accused of running Houston brothels filled ...

"...preyed on undocumented immigrants who were forced to work in brothels around Houston and in Mexico, prosecutors say."

Which is why we need to abolish these T and U visas, too. They are not forced to work, because they shouldn't be here in the first place. We are just importing a corrupt culture that will continue to cause problems.