More than 90 people were found inside a Southwest Houston, Texas, residence on Friday in what police are describing as a case of human smuggling.
Local police said they were initially called to a Chessington Drive residence late Thursday in a case that was originally reported as a kidnapping.
After securing a search warrant, police went inside the home Friday and discovered the victims, all but five of whom are men, huddled inside the two-story home in two different areas, according to KHOU. There were no children present.
“This is definitely more of a smuggling thing and not a trafficking thing,” Assistant Chief D.B. Edwards said, who added the victims were found in basic clothing and not tied up. “It was a big surprise when we got in the house and saw what we saw.”
Police said those who were found had not eaten in a while, so they provided food and water. Authorities are also concerned some of the victims may be suffering from COVID, as several have reported a loss of taste and smell, as well as registering a fever.
The victims are being kept inside the residence for now until they can all be tested for COVID. If some of the victims test COVID positive, “we may be looking at a quarantine,” Edwards told local reporters.
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