AXAPUSCO, Mexico, May 7 (UPI) -- Mexican police reportedly rescued 103 migrants held hostage in a house by a human trafficking gang in the town of Axapusco.
Some migrants were held hostage for about five weeks. Five people suspected of human trafficking were arrested after a nighttime raid on the house on Wednesday, according to El Universal.
The migrants were attempting to reach the United States illegally but were instead captured by the gang, who reportedly demanded cash from their relatives. The migrants were held in a house surrounded by an electric fence to deter escape.
Nearly 100 agents were involved in the operation to rescue the victims, including 14 children.
A Guatemalan man reportedly escaped the house and notified authorities, but some of the freed migrants accuse him of being associated with the human traffickers. One freed woman from Honduras said she paid about $7,000 to be smuggled into the United States.
The migrants were mostly from Central America, but there were five from Sri Lanka. The other nationalities of migrants freed include:
• 33 from Guatemala • 23 from El Salvador • 23 from India • 18 from Honduras
The migrants were found in relatively good condition considering the circumstances, according to Director of Axapusco Municipal Police Security Alfredo Morquecho. Mexico's National Migration Institute will repatriate the migrants back to their respective countries.
