LAREDO, Texas – Within hours of each other on June 2, Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents and the Laredo Police Department (LPD) shut down three stash houses and apprehended 182 undocumented individuals throughout the City of Laredo.
The first incident occurred when law enforcement officers received information regarding a possible stash house on Santa Maria Avenue. Agents, along with LPD, conducted a search of the property and discovered 54 undocumented individuals from the countries of Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, and Honduras in the U.S. illegally.
The second stash house was found within the same hour when Laredo South Station agents responded to a request for assistance from LPD with a possible stash house on Springfield Avenue. Agents apprehended 66 undocumented individuals from the countries of Mexico and Guatemala.
While agents were preoccupied at the Springfield Avenue stash house, they received a report of a third stash house, nearby. Law enforcement officers responded to a residence on Monterrey Avenue where they encountered multiple subjects attempting to abscond from the house. Agents secured the scene and apprehended 62 undocumented individuals from the countries of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.
The individuals from all the stash houses were not wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) when found. The individuals were provided PPE and were medically screened then processed accordingly.
Chief Patrol Agent Matthew Hudak said, “The identification and interdiction of these stash houses and the apprehension of over 180 non-citizens in less than two hours highlights the challenges that our agents and law enforcement partners face on a daily basis. These numbers also illustrate the potential risk to our communities from this criminal activity and those perpetrating it. I ask that our neighbors throughout our area continue to provide tips regarding possible stash houses to us, Crime Stoppers, or other law enforcement agencies.”
Stash houses continue to be a threat to national security and a threat to the citizens of our nation not only because of their use by criminal organizations but they are also a danger to the people they exploit by concealing them in dilapidated close quarters. Help us and our law enforcement partners take a stand against these criminal organizations and their dangerous acts by reporting suspicious activity in our neighborhoods.
Although the amount of people arrested in these stash houses is high, stash house apprehensions remain only a fraction of the total apprehensions made in Laredo Sector. The overwhelming majority of apprehensions made by Laredo Sector agents are while performing linewatch operations near the border.
To report suspicious activity such as human and/or drug smuggling, download the “USBP Laredo Sector” App or contact the Laredo Sector Border Patrol toll free at 1-800-343-1994. If you see something, say something.