6 smugglers, 11 illegals found at Phoenix drop house (KTAR-AZ)

6 smugglers, 11 illegals found at Phoenix drop house

October 8th, 2008 @ 11:52am

by KTAR Newsroom

Six suspected human smugglers have been arrested and nearly a dozen illegal immigrants rescued from a drop house in northwest Phoenix.

State Department of Public Safety detectives started investigating a home, near 35th Avenue and Dunlap, after they got a call Sunday about a man and wife who allegedly were being held against their will. The man who called police said smugglers were demanding $6,000 for the safe release of his brother and sister-in-law.

The couple and nine other illegal immigrants were found in the house when detectives served a search warrant on Monday night. Some of the victims told investigators they had been beaten, kicked and pistol-whipped because family members could not come up with ransom money.

The arrests were credited to the Illegal Immigration Prevention and Apprehension Co-op Team, IMPACT, a multi-agency project managed by DPS. It includes officers from the Phoenix Police Department, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Arizona Fraudulent Identification Task Force.