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5 People Allegedly Held Captive For Nearly A Week

POSTED: 10:41 pm EDT March 31, 2008
UPDATED: 12:05 am EDT April 1, 2008


NEW YORK -- Two Brazilian men told police they have allegedly been held captive for five days in an attic in Port Chester with no food, after paying thousands of dollars to be smuggled into the country.


Inside the attic of the multifamily home at 123 Haseco Ave., police told WNBC.com that five men were held captive by their alleged smugglers.

Three men allegedly kept the undocumented immigrants inside the attic for five days without feeding them.

Police said one of the victims was able to escape and flag down a passerby. That person, police said, had a cell phone and called 911.

That victim, who is 49, and his 29-year-old friend are said to be cooperating with police and immigration officials.

They told police they each paid $10,000 to be transported from Brazil to Mexico and then smuggled across the border to Houston. They said they were then driven to Port Chester in a white van.

They claim that their smugglers demanded $2,000 more from each of them and threatened to clip off their fingers with pruning shears if they did not pay.

They said they contacted police because they were desperate.

“One guy with a T-shirt was screaming for help,â€