Police bust Foothills drop house

Police discovered a drop house for illegal aliens Thursday in the 12800 block of South 46th Street after noticing an open garage door.

According to Phoenix Police Sgt. Leonard Piñuelas, 19 Mexican nationals were taken into custody by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Police and ICE agents suspect that three of those taken into custody may be “coyotes,” or handlers involved in the smuggling the illegal immigrants across the border.

The home was a rental and neighbors said they had no idea it was being used for illegal activities.

“We thought it had been rented out and students had moved in,” said Ralph McGuigan, a neighbor.

He did say it seemed strange that the garage door was almost always left open.

That open garage door was what lead to the discovery of the drop house, according to Piñuelas. He said police were called to the area after an unrelated call from a neighbor reporting someone walking from house to house checking doors to see if they were locked.

Police didn’t find the supposed burglar, but officer Howard Goldman did see the open garage door and investigated to see if a burglary was in progress.

“It never would have crossed my mind that it was a drop house,” said fellow officer Tony Ruelas. He said after seeing movement within the house they decided to call for backup.

“We thought we had two burglars,” he said.

What police found when they entered the South 46th Street residence was a surprise. Officers first encountered a woman, her young daughter, and 17 young men.

Piñuelas said that none of the 19 resisted law enforcement officers as they were taken into custody. None of the illegal aliens appeared in poor health.

“Everyone seemed to be in pretty good shape,” said Piñuelas.

It is the first drop house discovered in Ahwatukee Foothills.

“It’s unusual for Ahwatukee Foothills,” said Piñuelas, who lives and works in the area.

“Unfortunately, it is just off Interstate 10, a main smuggling route from Mexico,” he said. Earlier in the year a string of kidnapping-at-gunpoint incidents occurred in the area, including:

• Feb. 21, when an illegal immigrant was kidnapped by armed gunmen after his vehicle was forced off I-10 onto eastbound Loop 202 in Chandler. One of the gunmen attempted to kidnap the five passengers in the vehicle but left when he couldn’t get the vehicle started and police began to arrive in the area. Police still have no clues or information on what happened to the kidnapped man.

• Feb. 25, at Ray and 50th Street, when a newer black Mercury Grand Marquis forced a Dodge van to stop at Ray Road and 40th Street. A gunman took the wheel of the Dodge and, as the convoy was heading back to get onto the freeway, the van’s two original drivers escaped.

• March 3, when a van with 15 illegal immigrants was pulled over at gunpoint on I-10 near Warner Road by three armed coyotes. The 15 were then taken to a south Phoenix drop house where police later rescued the kidnapped illegal immigrants and arrested the three kidnappers.

Doug Murphy can be reached at (480) 898-7914 or dmurphy@aztrib.com.