Thread: Two drop houses found in Phoenix

Kevin Curran
12 News
Aug. 22, 2007 06:45 AM
Police officers on the ground and in the air searched a neighborhood in northeast Phoenix for people who ran from a possible illegal immigrant drop house.

Officers say there may have been more than 50 people inside a house near 40th Street and Thunderbird Road when they arrived after 8 p.m. Tuesday evening.

As many as eight of those inside ran from the home as police approached. Additional units and a helicopter were brought in to search the area.

Officers are also trying to determine if they have any of the smugglers in custody.

In Glendale, sheriff's deputies had a house near 75th Avenue and Bethany Home Road under surveillance. An office spokesman says they became aware of the home on Montebello Avenue during their investigation of another drop house and homicide in El Mirage over the weekend.

Seven suspected illegal immigrants were found inside that house.

Deputies say the entire investigation started with a call to the controversial sheriff's immigration violation hotline.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... CR-CP.html

You have got to love those hotlines.

Dozens arrests at two separate drop houses

07:13 AM Mountain Standard Time on Wednesday, August 22, 2007

3TV and azfamily.com Staff

Dozens of illegal immigrants will soon be deported after being discovered at drop house in North Phoenix.

A team of ICE officers found at least 50 illegal immigrants inside the home near 40th Street and Thunderbird Road last night.

Those people were taken into custody and will be turned over to immigration officials.

Neighbors, some of whom had been suspicious of the home, said some of the people tried to escape and his anywhere they could.

"They were hiding in my neighbor's garbage can," said Nancy Sparks. "They found two of them in my back yard."

It's not clear how many coyotes were arrested.

Another drop house was discovered earlier in the evening thanks to a tip on the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office new hotline.

A home near 71st Avenue and Bethany Home Road was raided. Seven suspected illegal immigrants were arrested.

Investigators are trying to determine how long those people had been at the home, as well as living conditions at the house.

According to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Officer, the home might be connected to a homicide and to a drop house discovered in El Mirage over the weekend.

http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/stor ... db1e4.html