Immigrants rescued from smugglers in SoCal

The Associated Press 3:00 p.m. January 15, 2009

LANCASTER, Calif. — Federal authorities say they have rescued two illegal immigrants being held hostage by smugglers under brutal conditions in Southern California.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Thursday that agents rescued an Ecuadorean national and a Salvadoran national from a Lancaster home Tuesday night.

One of the men told investigators that his captors had beaten him, used stun guns on him and starved him for almost two weeks in an effort to collect a $5,000 smuggling fee.

A man from Mexico and another from Guatemala were arrested. Authorities say both were illegally in the U.S.

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