“Fifty-three illegal immigrants found Sunday had been held against their will in a fortified home by suspected smugglers demanding more money, authorities said. The group of rescued immigrants included two 13-year-old girls, three women and a mentally disabled man. The rest were men, Department of Public Safety spokesman Harold Sanders said. Authorities began investigating Saturday after getting a tip that immigrants were being held captive. Sanders said the smugglers wanted an average of $2,500 for each person’s release. … The rescued immigrants were turned over to U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement.” [editor’s note: Why waste money to rescue them from one gang of kidnappers just to hand them over to another gang that’s even LESS likely to give them their freedom? - TLK] (05/11/08)