By: EFE
By: EFE
Police officers detained two alleged immigrant kidnappers who ran over a Latina when she tried to pay a ransom to be handed over to a relative who had crossed the border in Texas, local media reported on Monday.
The incident occurred last Thursday when in the city of Rosenberg , southwest of Houston, a Latina went to the parking lot of the Brazos Town Center shopping center to pay the ransom so that they would free his nephew of 21 years, who had just arrived in the United States.
According to a report by the Rosenberg Police Department , revealed by local television KTRK, when not They were able to agree on the amount of the ransom the alleged kidnappers ran over her and h They left the place , taking the young man.
The Latina, who was not seriously injured, assured the authorities that the smugglers demanded $ 6, 000 dollars to release the young migrant.
Later, the Victoria County Sheriff’s Office detained the van after receiving an alert from the Rosenberg police.
There were two suspects identified as Ricardo Mejía and Amy Regalado , in addition to the young man, whose name was not revealed.
Rosenberg detectives were able to determine that the victim was sold to smuggling groups . After crossing the border into the United States, they moved him through a network of hiding places and was left in an unpopulated area in South Texas because the authorities had allegedly discovered them.
The Young wandered for days before reaching a gas station, where he approached a random person and asked for help. That person allegedly contacted those now detained, who took him away and began negotiating with his family a price to release him in the Houston area.
Mejía and Regalado are in custody and face charges of kidnapping and aggravated assault .
Rosenberg Police Deputy Chief Jarret Nethery said in a statement that it was shameful in these times, in a country that leads the free world, that people buy and sell themselves like animals.
“The most significant aspect of this The story is that this young man escaped, sought help, and was returned to captivity. This is the definition of evil ”, he added.
Read more : Governors of Texas and Florida visit the border area with Mexico .