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.