MAY 4, 2023HOUSTON, TXHUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING
Houston stash house operator who held 97 noncitizens captive sentenced to 41 months in prison
HOUSTON — An unlawfully present Honduran national was sentenced May 2 to 41 months in federal prison for operating a stash house in southwest Houston where officials found 97 captive noncitizens in April 2021. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Houston conducted the investigation that led to the conviction.
Henry Licona-Larios, a 34-year-old unlawfully present Honduran national, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 41 months in prison for conspiracy to harbor unlawfully present noncitizens. Licona-Larios pleaded guilty to the charges on May 24, 2022. He is expected to be placed into removal proceedings following his incarceration.
The investigation began April 30, 2021, when authorities learned of a kidnapping. A woman reported that she had paid smugglers several thousand dollars to bring her brother into the country. However, the smugglers demanded money to release him and threatened to harm him if the money was not paid.
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/houston-stash-house-operator-who-held-97-noncitizens-captive-sentenced-41-months
