It sounds like something out of a suspense thriller, but for 11 terrified individuals, it was a harrowing reality. Federal authorities in Albuquerque have ripped open a disturbing human smuggling operation, leading to the indictment of Isaias David Jose and Tomas Mateo Gaspar on federal charges of harboring undocumented immigrants.
Their alleged crimes came to light after a frantic kidnapping report unveiled a network of threats, ransom demands, and a chilling connection to a notorious cartel.
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The nightmare began on March 1, 2025, when the FBI got an urgent call: a spouse had been kidnapped. The demand? A hefty 90,000 Quetzales—about $11,600—with a terrifying ultimatum: pay up, or the victim would be handed over to the brutal Zeta Cartel. To twist the knife, “proof of life” videos were sent to the distraught family.
FBI agents, working against the clock, used phone data from the ransom calls to pinpoint a seemingly ordinary residence in southwest Albuquerque.
The very next day, March 2, a search warrant was executed, and what agents found was anything but ordinary. Inside, they discovered 11 undocumented immigrants, including a vulnerable unaccompanied minor. The house itself was bleak, described as sparsely furnished, yet crammed with over 20 cell phones and a detailed ledger of illicit smuggling activities.
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The victims painted a grim picture: locked in rooms, subjected to threats of violence, and explicitly warned against speaking to law enforcement or risking being turned over to criminal organizations. Both Jose and Gaspar were identified as the orchestrators, running this “stash house” and even creating those chilling ransom videos.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Philip Russell, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office, announced the indictments today, vowing to dismantle such ruthless operations.
Jose and Gaspar are currently behind bars, awaiting their trial scheduled for August 11, 2025. If convicted, they each face up to five years in federal prison.
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