Human smuggling becoming more and more common, El Paso officials say

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- 250 stash houses have been found in the El Paso Sector so far this year, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. That includes both drug and human smuggling operations.

ABC-7 spoke with a former El Paso Police Deputy Chief and U.S. Marshal to understand trafficking trends, especially those local to the Borderland.

"The reason there are so many stash houses in El Paso is because of our proximity to the border," said Robert Almonte.

Almonte told ABC-7, 250 stash houses is above average for this time of year.

However:

"Stash houses are nothing new to the El Paso Police Department. When I was the Narcotics Commander, we implemented the Stash House Task Force back in 1999. And I remember our numbers were into the hundreds or more." Almonte said.

Still, Almonte says there have been changes in smuggling practices over the decades.

"Back, again, in 1999 and after that, we were encountering probably more drug stash houses than human smuggling stash houses. But now, they're encountering more stash houses involving human smuggling, and the reason for that is because of the surge in the immigration -- the migration of the migrants coming across the border," he said. "The Mexican cartels would rather be involved in human smuggling than drug smuggling because it's more cost-effective... When the Mexican cartels are bringing drugs across the border, they don't get their money until the drugs have reached their destination. Human smuggling is completely different. The Mexican cartels get their money upfront from these migrants wanting to be smuggled."

Wednesday, several law enforcement agencies led by Texas DPS announced they had discovered a stash house in West El Paso, where a 13-year-old was found locked in one of the bedrooms. Upon investigation, DPS determined the house was being used for sex and drug trafficking. DPS did not say where the house was located.

Almonte says criminal organizations often target and recruit minors into both human and drug trafficking.

"You have the minors involved in human smuggling, but it gets even worse than that. Minors are involved in and acting as hitmen," he said. "They're actually young children, as young as 11, 12 or 13 that are killing people for the cartel."

Almonte says social media and gaming systems are used by criminal organizations as methods of recruiting minors. They also advertise on platforms such as YouTube.

"When you look at the video, they make it sound like an adventure, like they're going on vacation. But those videos,... they fail to show the danger involved in trying to come into the United States," said Almonte.

The El Paso Police Department published a press release this week entitled 'Prevent Online Solicitation.' It provides tips for parents regarding keeping your children safe online. Here are those tips:

• Maintaining an open and ongoing dialogue with your children is key.
• Make sure they feel comfortable discussing their online experiences, concerns, and any interactions that seem suspicious.
• Familiarize yourself with the platforms and apps your children use. This allows you to better understand potential risks and help guide their online activities.
• Regularly check their social media and gaming profiles to ensure that their content is appropriate and doesn't reveal personal information.
• Discuss the importance of responsible online behavior.
• Help your kids understand that anything they post online can be saved, shared, and may have long-lasting consequences. Teach them to think before they post.
• Emphasize that they should never communicate with strangers online, especially sharing personal information and establish a rule that they should not meet anyone they've only interacted with online without your knowledge and supervision. This provides an additional layer of safety.
• Teach them to immediately inform you if they experience or witness any inappropriate or suspicious contact online. If necessary, report such incidents to both law enforcement and the platform being used.
• Almonte commends the work of multiple law enforcement agencies, but he also stressed the importance of community members remaining vigilant and aware of what happens their own neighborhoods.

"If they see anything suspicious and they are in their neighborhood, they need to call the police and they can call the police or remain anonymous," he said. "You don't want any type of a stash of operating in your neighborhood, whether it's drugs or human smuggling, because a shooting can occur. That's just nothing but trouble for the neighborhood."

If you are aware of any suspicious activity, DPS encourages you to call police as soon as possible. You can also provide tips anonymously by calling the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477) or submitting online here. There are rewards of up to $5,000.