Dozens of 'human smuggling hostages' have been rescued from a Texas house after a half-naked man ran down the street screaming that he had been kidnapped.
Cops descended on the home in Raven Ridge Drive, southwest Houston and found 25 men and one woman before arresting three people.
They had not been tied up but had been locked inside the house and cops found that the windows had been boarded up, according to ABC13.
Investigators said the victims were from Mexico, El Salvador, Cuba and Honduras, and that they are believed to have been snatched a week ago from Brownsville, around 350 miles.
Dozens of 'human smuggling hostages' have been rescued from a Texas house after a half-naked man ran down the street screaming that he had been kidnapped
Neighbours brought clothes for the 'hostages' - some of whom were also half-naked - as officers escorted them outside.
Police said that there were people were in every room of the three-bedroom house, as well as in the attic.
Commander Jonathon Halliday, of the Houston Police Department said: 'That's a pretty significant number for us to encounter.'
One man reportedly sustained minor injuries from falling through the attic and was taken to hospital.
The others have now been taken to nearby Ridgemont Elementary School for shelter and medical treatment.
Houston police are cooperating with the Department of Homeland Security.
One man told The Houston Chronicle that he had been kidnapped by someone armed with a revolver.
