46 People Held by INS After Raid

Immigration authorities detained 43 illegal immigrants and arrested three suspected smugglers who were packed in a two-bedroom bungalow Monday in South-Central Los Angeles, a discovery they believe could break a major Mexican smuggling ring.

Five of the immigrants found in the dimly lighted, unfurnished house had injuries from an accident that occurred when their van was involved in a one-vehicle accident in Riverside County, authorities said. They were taken to a local hospital for treatment of cuts and bruises.

The others were detained at the Federal Building in Los Angeles and will be held as material witnesses in investigations of several immigrant smuggling rings, said Richard Rogers, district director of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

The three male smuggling suspects, who told the INS they are from Mexico and live illegally in the United States, are believed to be involved in a ring that is “pretty sophisticated and that has been going on for a while,” Rogers said at a news conference. If convicted, they face up to five years in prison and $250,000 fines.

The INS has suspected for about two months that the house in the 100 block of East 82nd Street was a “safe house,” or drop-off point, for immigrant-smuggling operations, Rogers said.

The use of safe houses is routine in the immigrant-smuggling business, INS officials said. Ninety-five percent of all people who enter the country illegally--from Mexico, Asia or Europe--are assisted in some way by paid smugglers. Because Los Angeles is a popular destination, it probably has the highest concentration of safe houses in the nation, Rogers said.

The 43 illegal immigrants--40 men and three women--had reached the final stop in a journey that took them from Mexico to eastern San Diego County and then to a safe house in Los Angeles, Rogers said.

Down payments of $400 got them that far, a Los Angeles Police Department detective who questioned the immigrants said, but they were being held by the smugglers, commonly called “coyotes,” pending a final payment from relatives or future employers. The total cost of passage can be as much as $1,000.

Most of the immigrants appeared to be in their 20s or 30s, though police said the youngest was 16.

Rogers said he is optimistic about the investigation. “We only have a small piece of the pie, but it will make a significant dent into it and [other rings],” he said, pointing out that one suspect appears to be “high up” in the smuggling ring’s chain of command.

“We hope to link additional suspects with our witnesses,” Rogers said.

About 6 a.m., police responded to an anonymous 911 call from the house. Officers knocked on the door and were let into the house, where they found the illegal immigrants and alleged smugglers, many of whom had arrived about midnight Sunday, LAPD Det. Erwing Velasco said.

As the INS took over the investigation, the immigrants sat quietly, huddled in the small living room, which was littered with debris and orange peels. Blankets were piled in a back bedroom.

After being questioned, the immigrants filed out of the house and into an LAPD bus.

Coincidentally, another illegal immigrant apparently unrelated to the smuggling ring was detained at the scene.

While on the bus, some of the immigrants smiled and waved for television cameras. One man flashed a peace sign.

Mireya Figueroa, 18, who lives next door, said her mother saw men filing out of a mobile home into the house early in the morning, before police arrived.

“Also, about six different times in the past year, we saw nice [sports] cars parked in front of the house,” Figueroa said, but added that they did not suspect anything unusual.

A woman who lives across the street and who did not want to be identified said she was surprised to see police at the house.

“We live quietly here and all the neighbors get along with each other,” she said. “Everything was so quiet [at the house]. There have been no problems, nobody there.”

Mail carrier Sergio Gayton said he has had the house on his route for a year now, and he believed it was vacant most of that time.

The residence “got junk mail, but nobody would pick it up,” he said. “The yard was always messed up, so I thought nobody lived there.”

Times staff photographer Rick Meyer contributed to this story.