Police: Armed men held more than 100 migrants in home
Juarez officers take custody of four alleged cartel members, hand over Central Americans to immigration authorities
EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Police in Juarez say they have turned over to Mexican immigration authorities 104 migrants found in an overcrowded stash house late Tuesday. The group included four minors.
Almost all the migrants were from Central America and were being guarded by armed caretakers at a home on the corner of Del Real and Marquina streets, Chihuahua Public Safety Director Gilberto Loya told reporters. Four unidentified suspects were taken into custody and a 9mm gun seized at the scene.
A video taken by a Border Report camera crew shows migrants with backpacks coming out of the home one by one and being told to sit by a wall by police officers. The group also included some women.
Chihuahua state authorities say organized criminal groups traditionally associated with drug trafficking now also are cashing in on migrant smuggling along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Authorities did not identify the criminal group that had been holding the migrants.