EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Thirty-three stash houses were identified and 91 migrants who were being harbored there were “rescued” as part of Operation Disruption which took place during a 12-day period in August in Doña Ana and Luna counties, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said on Tuesday.
Operation Disruption is a “coordinated effort to combat human trafficking and organized crime in southern New Mexico,” according to the governor’s office.
The operation, which took place over 12 days in August, resulted in “significant disruptions to criminal networks and the rescue of numerous victims,” the governor’s office said.
This included, according to the governor’s office:
91 people rescued by New Mexico State Police.
33 stash houses identified.
735 traffic stops conducted.
16 arrests made between Aug. 17 and Aug. 29.
Nine people found in the desert including one female in a life-or-death situation, who is currently recovering.
“Operation Disruption is a clear demonstration of our commitment to saving lives and protecting the most vulnerable among us,” Lujan Grisham said. “Thanks to the tireless efforts of our law enforcement partners, we have made our communities safer and sent a strong message to those who seek to exploit others.
“Let this be a warning to those who would traffic in human lives: New Mexico will not tolerate this reprehensible criminal behavior. We are coming after you, and when we find you, we will shut down your illegal operation and put you in jail,” Lujan Grisham said.
The New Mexico State Police Crime Suppression and Uniform Bureaus conducted a human trafficking operation in Doña Ana and Luna counties, working in conjunction with the New Mexico Organized Crime Commission, U.S. Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, Las Cruces Police Department, Bureau of Land Management, Texas DPS, and Mexican officials.
The operation aimed to disrupt, identify, and locate human trafficking organizations, including stash houses used to harbor individuals smuggled into the U.S. illegally, the Governor’s Office said.
This humanitarian and cartel disruption effort was focused on protecting the victims of human trafficking organizations, the Governor’s Office said.
In May 2023, Lujan Grisham announced the re-establishment of the Governor’s Organized Crime Commission, a bipartisan group created in statute in the 1970s but seldom utilized by previous governors, Lujan Grisham’s Office said.
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