3 Arrested in Orange for Kidnap of Up to 18 in Tijuana : Extortion scheme: Abduction victims were taken to Inglewood from across the border and ordered to seek ransom from relatives in Southern California, police say.

Police arrested three people Thursday who allegedly kidnaped at least 18 people from the streets of Tijuana last week and drove some to Inglewood, where they were forced to call friends and relatives to raise their own ransom.

Police Lt. Ed Tunstall said the alleged kidnap and extortion plot was uncovered Thursday when one of the victims, Irmalinda Flores Sanchez, 35, of Orange, called police. Tunstall said she had been set free to raise $900 for the release of two relatives who were still being held captive in Inglewood.

As Sanchez met the suspects at an Orange shopping center at Prospect Street and Chapman Avenue to pay money Thursday, police arrested two sisters, Minerva Garcia, 18, of Inglewood and Alicia Garcia, 21, of Los Angeles, along with a 17-year-old male juvenile. The three were not armed. The women were taken to Orange County Jail where they were booked on charges of kidnaping, extortion and false imprisonment, police said. Bond was set at $50,000 each. The teen-ager was taken to Orange County Juvenile Hall.

“We haven’t heard of anything like this before,” Tunstall said. “We’ve heard of burns by coyotes (who bring illegals over the border for a fee) but nothing like this.”

From interviews with the victims, Tunstall said, police learned that at least eight people holding pistols and flashing badges like those used by Mexican federal agents allegedly abducted the people from the streets of Tijuana on Saturday and took them to an assembly point in Mexico, where they determined who had friends or relatives in Southern California. Those people were put in a camper and taken to a home in Inglewood, where they were forced to make telephone calls to raise money for their release, according to police.

Sanchez said in an interview that the suspects posed as federal agents. She said her cousin and niece pleaded with them to allow them to remain in Tijuana, where they live and work. As many as 10 of the hostages paid $300 each to avoid being kidnaped, she said.

Speaking from the living room of her apartment, Sanchez said the suspects made stops in San Ysidro and Chula Vista, but none of the victims could get away to call for help because they feared for the others’ safety.

“We had to take care of each other because they (abductors) kept a vigil over us,” she said.

She and her cousin, Mercedes Cruz Zuniga, 35, and niece, Maria Luisa Virginia Vera Flores, 19, said they were still afraid. On a warm Thursday afternoon, Sanchez kept the windows to her apartment closed and curtains drawn. She said she plans to move soon.

Sanchez said that when she was freed she called police because she did not know what else to do.

“We were obligated to a lot of money and we couldn’t do it (pay). I was not able to make the decision (about how to handle the situation) for myself, so I called the police,” she said.

She said eight people had been held in the Inglewood house since Sunday and fed potatoes and beans. When Inglewood police went to the house Thursday, it was empty.

Sanchez said the suspects asked $300 each for their release. When the three of them couldn’t get the money, the suspects drove Sanchez to the Orange neighborhood where she lived and told her that if she did not raise the money her relatives would not be released, she said.

FO (A2) Ordered to Seek Own Ransom: Several people were allegedly kidnaped in Tijuana and taken to Inglewood where they were ordered to seek ransom from relatives in Southern California. Irmalinda Flores Sanchez of Orange, above, right, called police after she said she’d been freed to raise $900 for the release of two relatives, Maria Luisa Virginia Vera Flores, left, and Mercedes Cruz Zuniga. Three people are being held on kidnaping and extortion charges, police said.