A human smuggler from Mexico who held a number of illegal aliens hostage inside a Tucson house has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. 29-year old Jose Enriquez-Hernandez of Zacatecas, Mexico was sentenced on Friday, May 9, by U.S. District Court Judge Cindy Jorgenson.

According to court documents, Enriquez-Hernandez would bring illegal aliens to a drop house in Tucson where they were held and their clothing was taken away. The smugglers would then contact the aliens’ relatives and tell them that the smuggling fee had been raised, and that their relatives would not be released until the new fee was paid.

ICE agents raided the house in March of 2007 and took Enriquez-Hernandez into custody. There were more than 30 illegal aliens in the house, one of whom told investigators he had been held there for three weeks.

A second defendant in the case, Jesus Hernandez-Padilla was sentenced in February to three years in federal prison for transporting illegal aliens.