More than two dozen people were rescued Thursday night from a Houston house where they were being held in a human smuggling operation, police said.
Officers discovered the people after a man running in the street yelled that he had been kidnapped and that others were being held at the home, according to police.
Officers forced entry into the home and found 29 men and one female, police Commander Jonathon Halliday told reporters at the scene.
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"Most of the people said they were picked up in Brownsville between two days and a week ago and that they were being held there," Halliday said.
Most of those rescued reported being from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras or Cuba, police said.
Immigration authorities were on the scene and planned to investigate, Halliday said. The Department of Homeland Security is involved, and the victims are cooperating with that agency, police said.
Three people were detained as possible suspects, Halliday said.
All of those rescued were taken to a high school and given food and clothes, some of which was donated by neighbors, Halliday said.
A request for comment from DHS was not immediately returned Thursday night.
