CBP uncovers Iranian human smuggling hub in LA: officials

A home in Los Angeles was an Iranian human smuggling hub, according to Customs and Border Patrol after two individuals were arrested Friday afternoon in a Los Angeles County neighborhood. The home had previously been the site of the arrest of seven Iranian nationals earlier this week, some of whom were reportedly flagged on the FBI’s Terrorist Watchlist.

Federal agents with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) were seen executing a warrant at a residence in North Hills around 3 pm on Friday, marking the second law enforcement action at the property this week. CBP said that the arrests were in connection to a human smuggling hub in LA, per Foc LA.

“Earlier this week, seven Iranian nationals were arrested at the same address—including individuals on the FBI Terror Watchlist and associates of an Iranian human trafficking network,” CBP posted to X.

"The location has been repeatedly used to harbor illegal entrants linked to terrorism,” CBP stated in a post on X. “Under @POTUS, CBP is taking aggressive action to shut down smuggling networks and remove national security threats before they can do harm.”

CBP Assistant Commissioner Hilton Beckham elaborated on the situation in a statement, saying, "Intelligence indicates the smuggling network has trafficked individuals from adversarial regimes, including Iran — posing direct risks to U.S. national security."

According to a report by KCAL News, residents in the neighborhood explained that someone new moved into the home about six months ago. They added that behavior around the home was suspicious.

"There was a bunch of young people and they would hang out at night, pacing on the phone, sitting on the curb," said neighbor Claudio Bonoli. "Talking to my neighbors, they say they were kind of intimidated by them."

"It's only two houses from my house," he added. "This has been a really great, quiet neighborhood for a long time. So, it's totally surprising."