Paramedics transport a man into an ambulance from the scene of a human smuggling case, where more than 90 undocumented immigrants were found inside a home on the 12200 block of Chessington Drive, Friday, April 30, 2021, in Houston. A Houston Police official said the case will be handled by federal authorities and that some of the people inside the house were exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms. ( Godofredo A. Vásquez/Houston Chronicle via AP)
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UPDATED 11:40 AM PT – Saturday, May 1, 2021
A neighborhood in Texas was left in shock after law enforcement agencies discovered a human smuggling operation inside a home. According to the Houston Police Department on Friday, officers had received reports of a kidnapping the night before and they were working around-the-clock to locate a potential address.
“Last night, we were called to a location and given some tips, and that’s all I’m going to say about that,” Assistant Chief Darwin Edwards said. “But we worked through the night to try to figure out exactly where they were, which led us to this address. And we had some pretty good information that they were here.”
HPD AC @EdwardsDaryn Briefing on Incident at 12210 Chessington Drive. https://t.co/Mz4xo6jfBn
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) April 30, 2021
When serving a search warrant, local authorities discovered more than 90 undocumented migrants inside the residence.
“We had our tactical operations team, SWAT, go in and execute the search warrant, and when they got inside the house, they realized that this was actually going to turn into a human smuggling investigation,” Edwards explained. “When we got into the house, we realized that there were over 90 people inside. So we immediately began to assess any kind of a special threat after that, [and] once we isolated that, we wanted to make sure we rendered any kind of medical care.”
Police said no children were discovered on the property, with the youngest victim being in their early 20’s. Inside the two-story home, the migrants were found close together in large groups with some going days without food or water.
“It’s a two-story house, so they basically, you know, were in there, in their basic clothing and all huddled together,” Edwards stated. “So that’s what we saw when we got in.”
Owners of the property said one man was renting the house and no neighbors had reported any suspicious activity in the area before the discovery.
In the meantime, local authorities are working with federal officials as they continue with their investigation.
