SAN JUAN, Texas — A concerned citizen helped lead Border Patrol agents and local police to a stash house in this border city where 34 illegal immigrants were being held.
The case began on Monday afternoon when a concerned citizen contacted local authorities about suspicious activity in a particular neighborhood. According to information provided to Breitbart Texas by the U.S. Border Patrol, San Juan Police and Border Patrol agents went to the house described by the caller. Authorities had been knocking on the door but went inside the house after noticing a burnt smell coming form inside the residence.
Inside the house, authorities found 32 men and two women who were illegally in the country. The burning smell came from food that had been burning on the stove in the kitchen.
The illegal immigrants found inside the house have been identified as being from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. All of them were taken to a local border patrol station for processing. Authorities arrested two men from Mexico who were at the house and are believed to have been tied to a human smuggling organization.
“This is a great example of the public taking a stance against human smuggling,” said RGV Sector Border Patrol Chief Manuel Padilla Jr. “We encourage all community members to report suspicious activity. This sends a clear message to smugglers that crimes like this will not be tolerated in our neighborhoods.”
As Breitbart Texas previously reported, the U.S. Border Patrol has been working in various ways to better connect with community members as well as to expose brutal human smugglers and their inhumane methods. One of the campaigns undertaken by the agency deals with placing Wanted/Se Busca posters on specific locations. The posters identify known human smugglers with pending warrants. The individuals are not high ranking members of the criminal organization but they play an integral part in the smuggling of thousands of illegal immigrants.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award winning journalist with Breitbart Texas you can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.
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