PHOENIX, July 29 (UPI) -- Armed smugglers holding undocumented immigrants against their will while trying to extort cash from relatives is getting worse, law enforcement officials said.
Phoenix police Sgt. Randy Force told the Arizona Republic that police answer calls about drop houses -- where smugglers hold the immigrants -- an average of three times a week.
"I'm somewhat surprised by the willingness (of the immigrants) to put themselves in the hands of these people ... who are ruthless," Force said.
"It's happening more frequently and it's a growing problem," said Rudy Bustamante, community relations officer for the Phoenix office of federal Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Smugglers take the immigrants to drop houses where they are held until family members pay the smuggling fee.
But increasingly, the immigrants are being held at gunpoint by smugglers until family members come up with money beyond the agreed-upon price, Bustamante said.
It costs about $1,000 to smuggle a person across the border -- about triple what it was a few years ago, because of tighter borders.
