Officers: 15 Immigrants Found In Apartment (KPHO-Phoenix, AZ)

Officers: 15 Immigrants Found In Apartment

POSTED: 7:57 am MST May 30, 2008

PHOENIX -- Officers found 15 illegal immigrants in a one-bedroom apartment Thursday, Phoenix police said.

Police said they received a tip from a neighbor at the apartment complex near 37th Street and McDowell Road reporting large numbers of people entering and leaving the apartment overnight.

Officers knocked on the door of the unit and said they heard people inside, though no one answered the door.

Police obtained a search warrant and forced their way into the apartment. Inside, they said they found 15 illegal immigrants, some of whom tried to hide in the bathroom.

Police said one of the men in the apartment was believed to be a human smuggler.

All of the immigrants were turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Police said tips from alert neighbors are what usually lead them to drop houses.