Investigation continues in human smuggling ring

June 23, 2009 - 9:37 PM
By ILDEFONSO ORTIZ

Three Mexican men accused of holding 12 undocumented immigrants against their will have been charged with alien smuggling and conspiracy to smuggle aliens into the U.S., according to court documents.

U.S. Magistrate Felix Recio on Tuesday ordered that Leonardo Juarez Torres, Abel Martinez-Rendon and Santiago Cisneros Diaz, all Mexican nationals, be held without bond until a detention hearing Friday morning.

The immigrants, 10 Mexican men and two Salvadoran women, were being held in a house at 1936 Woodway Drive, said Brownsville police spokesman Sgt. Jimmy Manrrique.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is investigating several leads to identify other individuals possibly involved in the alleged smuggling operation, as well as where the suspects began their operations, said ICE spokesman Nina Pruneda.

Police were alerted to the smuggling operation when one of the undocumented immigrants escaped the house and called for help, saying that they where being held against their will by armed individuals, court records show.

Because of the nature of the situation and to ensure a safe resolution, Brownsville police deployed their SWAT team and hostage negotiation team, said Brownsville police Chief Carlos Garcia.

A Monday standoff with police ended peacefully when the immigrants came out of the house and two of the suspects turned themselves in, police said. Police arrested the third suspect who tried to elude offices by hiding in a storage closet.

Neighbors around the street where surprised and scared when police units blocked off access to the streets and told them to stay inside.

"My 18-year-old called me at work and told me that there were cops everywhere," said one neighbor, who, along with other neighbors, was not allowed into her home until the area was cleared of potential trouble. "I left work and came over, but they wouldn't let me get to my house." The woman didn't want to be identified.

Another neighbor said he was very surprised because the neighborhood is usually calm and quiet.

"I walk my dog at night," said the neighbor, a man who also didn't want to be named. "You see (children) riding their bicycles around. You can't do that in a bad area. Here we can do that without worries."

Court documents show the house was rented on June 1; however, federal agents were still trying to find the person who actually rented the house.

The neighbors both agreed that the house had been vacant for a long period and the new tenants had kept a low profile.

"They kept mostly to themselves," the male neighbor said. "The only thing that was kind of weird is that sometimes we would see a late-model truck park there at night but that was it."

The use of quiet neighborhoods to establish temporary stash houses is not a rare occurrence, Manrrique said.

"It's not unusual. They get a nice house in a quiet neighborhood and try to keep a low profile, so they can avoid detection," the spokesman said.

Police report before Monday, the house had few disturbances reported, with the last one, an automobile burglary, taking place at that address in 2007.

Monday morning, the house had both light and power, but furniture was scarce, matching the usual description of a stash house, police said.


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