Texas Human Stash House Raid Nets 12

HOUSTON, Texas — 12 suspected illegal aliens have been arrested during a raid at a stash house.

Officers with the Houston Police Department were reported by the local ABC affiliate to say that a tip led to the arrest in North Houston. The stash house was located on Bauman Road and Briarcliff Drive near Tidwell.

HPD went to the location around 11 p.m. on Sunday night and found the 12 people inside of the residence.

Officials with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency were notified and they arrived at the scene. ABC13 News in Houston reported that the illegal aliens were taken into custody for processing.

The local television station reported that the names, ages, race, or genders of those arrested are not known at this time. The name of the owner of the property was also not immediately available.

Breitbart Texas reported in September that U.S. Border Patrol agents working in Hidalgo County, Texas, busted an illegal immigrant stash house where more than 50 foreign nationals were being held. All of the immigrants were identified by Border Patrol agents as being from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador.

Illegal immigrants are frequently held in stash houses by their smugglers as they attempt to extort additional funds from family members. They are often beaten and threatened whereas women are sometimes sexually assaulted as a means of intimidation.

On September 14, Breitbart Texas reported that a Mexican national who had been living in Houston was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in a U.S. prison for human trafficking. He was also convicted of causing the death of at least one of the smuggled immigrants. Noe Aranda-Soto pleaded guilty to federal charges in May 2016 and stood before District Judge John D. Rainey in Victoria, Texas, to hear his final sentencing. Judge Rainey sentenced the Mexican national to life in prison, according to court records obtained by Breitbart Texas.

Lana Shadwick is a contributing writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. She has served as a prosecutor and associate judge in Texas. Follow her on Twitter @LanaShadwick2.