IIMPACT Detectives bust drop house in Central Phoenix where a Phoenix resident had been abducted after getting off the bus and held

Friday, August 14, 2009
IIMPACT Detectives bust drop house in Central Phoenix where a Phoenix resident had been abducted after getting off the bus and held

Total of two coyotes arrested and ten victims rescued in the IIMPACT operation

On, Aug. 11, 2009, the Phoenix Police Department notified IIMPACT detectives about a Phoenix man who was abducted at gunpoint after he got off of a bus and was walking to his home in the area of 32nd St. and Roosevelt. The man was forced into a van by human smugglers (coyotes) and held in

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a drop house at 1008 N. 27th St. for four days until his family paid the coyotes a ransom of $2,800. The man was abducted to replace another victim who had escaped so that the coyotes didn’t have to pay their boss the lost ransom money of $2,800 by losing one victim. The man led police to the drop house where one coyote was arrested following a traffic stop after he was identified by the victim and was seen getting into a truck to flee the house.

At about 9:30 p.m. the Phoenix Police Department’s Special Assignment Unit (SAU) responded and surrounded the residence and detained one remaining suspect and 10 undocumented immigrant victims. The original victim was also an undocumented immigrant, but has been living in Phoenix most of his life. IIMPACT detectives learned the 10 victims had arrived at the drop house earlier that morning and were immediately beaten violently by the coyotes and their shoes were also taken from them. One coyote even threatened the victims with a six-inch knife, which was recovered by detectives. The victims’ families were told if ransom money was not paid their family members would be taken to a more violent place. One victim claimed to have seen one coyote with a handgun; however the handgun was not located at the residence.

Arrested:
• Jose Angel Lopez-Gutierrez, 26, of Mexico
• Ariel Rodriguez-Duarte, 24 of Mexico
The suspects were booked into the Maricopa County 4th Ave Jail on charges of kidnapping, extortion, armed robbery, human smuggling and misconduct involving weapons. The undocumented immigrant victims were turned over to ICE custody.

IIMPACT (Illegal Immigration Prevention & Apprehension Co-op Team) is a multi-agency project managed by GIITEM of the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) that is designed to address rising crime associated with illegal immigration. IIMPACT is comprised of personnel from the Phoenix Police Department, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Arizona Fraudulent Identification Task Force (AFIT). As the name implies, local, state and federal police agencies combine forces to impact international human smuggling organizations operating in Arizona.