HOUSTON (NewsNation Now) — Houston Police rescued approximately 26 people from a “human smuggling operation” on Thursday night, authorities said.
“Officers received a report of a male in his briefs running down the street yelling that he had been kidnapped. The male advised that thirty more people were being held hostage in the house,” Houston Police said in a tweet.
People are handcuffed together in pairs and loaded into vans as police investigate a possible human smuggling operation, Thursday night, Dec. 4, 2020, in Houston. About 30 people were taken to the gymnasium of nearby a elementary school and were eventually transported away. Investigators say the victims came from Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Cuba. (Mark Mulligan/Houston Chronicle via AP) 
People are handcuffed together in pairs and loaded into vans as police investigate a possible human smuggling operation, Thursday night, Dec. 4, 2020, in Houston. About 30 people were taken to the gymnasium of nearby a elementary school and were eventually transported away. Investigators say the victims came from Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Cuba. (Mark Mulligan/Houston Chronicle via AP) 
People are handcuffed together in pairs and loaded into vans as police investigate a possible human smuggling operation, Thursday night, Dec. 4, 2020, in Houston. About 30 people were taken to the gymnasium of nearby a elementary school and were eventually transported away. Investigators say the victims came from Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Cuba. (Mark Mulligan/Houston Chronicle via AP) 
Law enforcement look over a vehicle at a home where they were investigating a possible human smuggling operation, Thursday night, Dec. 4, 2020, in Houston. About 30 people were taken to the gymnasium of nearby a elementary school and were eventually transported away. Investigators say the victims came from Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Cuba. (Mark Mulligan/Houston Chronicle via AP) 
Law enforcement gather near a home where they were investigating a possible human smuggling operation, Thursday night, Dec. 4, 2020, in Houston. About 30 people were taken to the gymnasium of nearby a elementary school and were eventually transported away. Investigators say the victims came from Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Cuba. (Mark Mulligan/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Police responded to the home on the southwest side of the city and found 25 males and one female, all only wearing undergarments. It’s unclear what the ages of the victims are.
A police spokesperson said some of the people inside the home appeared to have been wearing only underwear to blend in with the others, but they were clean while the others were dirty, tipping off officers that those few may have been running the operation.
A few people possibly involved in the smuggling operation were detained, authorities said.
The Department of Homeland Security is involved the investigation.
A nearby police department helped open a school gym to keep the victims out of the cold weather.
