Authorities discovered more than 90 people inside a Southwest Houston, Texas home on Friday and said that it’s a human smuggling case.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Houston police responded to the home located on Chessington Drive Thursday evening for a reported kidnapping. They secured a search warrant and returned to the home the next day, which is when they found all of the victims.
All the victims were huddled inside the two-story home and in separate areas. No children were found, KHOU News reported.
“This is definitely more of a smuggling thing and not a trafficking thing,” Assistant Chief D.B. Edwards said, who added the victims were found in basic clothing and not tied up. “It was a big surprise when we got in the house and saw what we saw.”
Authorities also say that the victims had not eaten in a while. The victims were given both food and water. There is also the concern that some may be suffering from COVID-19.
As for now, the victims remain in the home until they are all tested for the coronavirus.
If some of the victims test positive for COVID, “we may be looking at a quarantine,” Edwards told local reporters.
