Main suspect in human trafficking case still at large

Only three out of the 11 suspects that were captured by the state Attorney General ’s office have been charged with the crime of human trafficking for labor exploitation against 63 people –56 of which are underage- from the state of Chiapas who were rescued last Saturday morning in a house within the Santa María Atzompa municipality .

Six suspects

were released for lack of evidence and three will serve as witnesses in the case, according to the state government body.

Furthermore, the institution claimed to have conducted a thorough research of the premises where the Tzotzil children and women were found in poor sanitary conditions.

Though no official statement was released, the Attorney’s office revealed that two search dogs had participated in the investigation to search for human remains, as well as a photographer and a criminal expert who “collected several elements that will contribute to building the case.”

The six people who were released for lack of evidence declared that they had been forced to guard the house by a criminal group who also made them drive the children to the state capital’s main roads for labor and back to the house at night. They were presumably paid 2,000 pesos a month , though they only spent 15 pesos a day to feed each of the captives.

Meanwhile, the suspected leader of the criminal group that exploited the Tzotzil individuals is now a fugitive. The investigation has indicated that he is also from the state of Chiapas.

The three suspects that remain in custody were charged with the crime of human trafficking for labor exploitation and begging. They have been identified as Armando P.R., Olga P.R., and Aníbal P.H. , who were given preventive detention on Monday while their case is led under the criminal file 627/2018 .

According to the State Attorney ’s office, authorities will continue searching for the main suspect responsible for the human trafficking network in the capital of Oaxaca. On the morning of Saturday, October 13 , elements from the State Bureau of Investigation, local police, and human rights protection agencies rescued a total of 63 people from Chiapas, 56 of which were children and adolescents , victims of human trafficking, during an operation conducted in a private residence in the Santa María Atzompa municipality .

The operation conducted by the Prosecutor’s Office happened several months after the investigation started. The children have remained in the care of Oaxaca’s National System for Integral Family Development (DIF) .

The Public Prosecutor Rubén Vasconcelos Méndez has refused to disclose further details on the case to EL UNIVERSAL .

56 children and 7 adult women freed from slavery in Oaxaca

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