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More than 100 people, thought to be undocumented immigrants, were found in what's believed
to be a stash house in Houston. KHOU called the conditions "deplorable."
"Houston police officers are calling this one of the largest stash houses they have
ever seen."
"There's no hot water in the house, there is a toilet that partially works, one bathroom."
"These kids are not gonna forget this."
According to reports, a concerned person called authorities after a human smuggler failed
to show at their designated meeting place with a 24-year-old family member and her two
children.
"Police were there searching for a missing child. ... This may be part of a human smuggling
operation." (Via WCPO)
Of the more than 100 people pulled from the house, one of the women was pregnant. There
were also several children and hundreds of chickens. A KPRC reporter said the stench
was "unbearable."
"Police say the captives were treated worse than animals."
"Bodies upon bodies, people sitting on top of one another, squalid conditions, dirty,
filthy conditions, clothes strewn everywhere."
CNN reports the alleged immigrants were from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico
and ranged in age anywhere from 5 to 47 years old.
"Most of those rescued said they had been at the house for two to four days, but one
woman said she had been there 15 days."
The doors and windows had been sealed shut, and the people inside were reportedly held
against their will, and had their shoes taken so they couldn't run.
A total of five suspects were taken into custody. The people found in the home were detained
and taken to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility where they will undergo
medical treatment and be fingerprinted.