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Public Safety

Smugglers In Tecate Make Off With $2,500

Smugglers In Tecate Make Off With $2,500
For the second time in less than a week, a migrant has been held for ransom in Tecate. Police there report a woman who intended to cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally was held captive while her smugglers extorted her husband.

For the second time in less than a week, a migrant has been held for ransom in Tecate. Police there report a woman who intended to cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally was held captive while her smugglers extorted her family.

A spokesman for the Tecate police says a 27-year-old Oaxacan woman hired a smuggler in Tijuana to lead her across the border so she could join her husband.

Police say the woman set out with the man and another, who she thought was a migrant.

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It turned out he was the smuggler's accomplice. The pair held the woman for a day-and-a-half, while they called her husband and told him to deposit $2,500 at Western Union, which he did. The smugglers lied and said they'd crossed the border, though they were still in Mexico.

Last week, Mexican law enforcement freed 17 migrants and arrested three men who they said had kidnapped more than 100 migrants since 2008.

Crossing the border illegally in Tecate has become increasingly more dangerous during the last couple of years, as armed groups are targeting migrants. Law enforcement authorities suspect smugglers may be tied to organized crime

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