9 Accused of Holding 22 Aliens, Trying to Get Ransoms

Twenty-two illegal aliens, smuggled across the border from Mexico last week, were freed by FBI agents and Riverside police from two prison-like “drop houses” in Los Angeles where they were being held until they could be “bought out” by relatives or employers, investigators reported Friday.

The FBI said nine other aliens, who allegedly operated the smuggling ring, were booked on suspicion of kidnaping and extortion.

The investigation began Wednesday in Riverside when a relative of three of the smuggled aliens was contacted by the suspects, who demanded $1,000 each for the captives’ release, the FBI reported.

The relative went to police in Riverside, who joined with the FBI in arresting one suspect at 3rd Street and Broadway in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday night when he arrived to pick up the ransom, according to the FBI. One of the smuggled aliens was with the suspect.

Told of Locations

Investigators learned that the aliens were being held in houses on West 58th Street and on 103rd Street.

At the two houses they found 21 more aliens locked in rooms secured with steel bars. The FBI said the smuggled aliens, all from Mexico or Guatemala, had been brought across the border near Tijuana and taken to the “drop houses” in the trunks of cars. Investigators said the smuggled men appeared to have had very little to eat since they were brought to the houses.

All 22 of the aliens were turned over to the Immigration and Naturalization Service for eventual return to their homelands.

Eight other suspected smugglers, also believed to be aliens, were taken into custody at the two houses.