More than two dozen people were rescued Thursday night from a house where they were being held in a human smuggling operation in Houston.
According to police, officers discovered the people after a man running in the street was heard yelling that he had been kidnapped and others were being held at the home.
Police Commander Jonathon Halliday told reports at the scene that officers had forced entry into the home and found 29 men and one female.
He said, “Most of the people said they were picked up in Brownsville between two days and a week ago and that they were being held there.”
Police say that most of those rescued reported being from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, or Cuba.
Immigration authorities were on the scene and planned to investigate, Halliday said. The Department of Homeland Security is involved, and the victims are cooperating with that agency.
Three people were detained as possible suspects, Halliday said.
All of those rescued were taken to a high school and given food and clothes, some of which were donated by neighbors.
