Dozens of people were found in a residence in southwest Houston in what police said was possibly a human smuggling operation.
Police responded on Friday to a call initially reported as a potential kidnapping and found more than 90 people inside the residence.
“Initial reports are more than 90 people were found,” the Houston Police Department tweeted early Friday afternoon before holding a press conference.
Houston Police Department Assistant Chief Daryn Edwards subsequently told reporters that investigators did not expect to encounter so many people.
“It was a big surprise when we got in the house and saw what we saw,” he said, adding that neighbors had not shared any information to indicate that anything suspicious was happening.
“When they got inside the house, they realized that this is actually going to turn into a human smuggling investigation,” Edwards said.
Police were made aware of the kidnapping call Thursday night, and detectives worked through the night to determine a location of where the victim would be, Edwards said. Officers obtained a search warrant, which they executed on Friday.
Edwards added that investigators suspect a number of the victims have positive COVID-19 cases, some with fever symptoms and others having reported a loss of taste and smell.
He also said the local health department is performing rapid coronavirus tests on the victims and that all the victims are being kept together in the house until it can be determined who needs to be placed in quarantine. Investigators’ primary goal is to provide medical care for those who are ill, Edwards said.
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There are no children among the victims, and Edwards estimated that there are five females among the group of mostly males.
UPDATE: The Justice Department announced charges against five noncitizens Monday in connection with the case. The five harbored, concealed, and shielded the 97 individuals, all themselves illegal aliens, for gain, prosecutors said.
