Federal agents bust suspected Phoenix stash house, 19 migrants found inside apartment

PHOENIX — Federal authorities say they dismantled an apparent human smuggling stash house in north Phoenix, discovering 19 migrants crammed into a single apartment unit while preparing to be transported to other states.

Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations executed search warrants on March 2 at an apartment complex near 19th and Peoria avenues. Investigators said the unit was being used as a temporary holding location for migrants who had recently crossed the border and were waiting to be transported elsewhere in the country.

According to federal court documents, agents found 19 people inside Unit 103 at the Ark on Desert Cove Apartments. The migrants had allegedly been smuggled across the border and were staying in the apartment only briefly before being driven to destinations across the United States.

Authorities described the location as a “stash house,” a term used by investigators to describe properties used by smuggling organizations to house migrants after they cross the border.

“This is the largest bust I’ve personally heard of since I’ve been a lawmaker in Arizona,” Republican State Senator Jake Hoffman said.

Hoffman said the conditions inside the apartment raised humanitarian concerns.

“This is both a national security crisis. It is a law and order crisis, and it is a humanitarian crisis,” Hoffman said. “You’re seeing, like in this instance, 19 individuals crammed inside a single bedroom apartment. That is absolutely inhumane.”

Investigators say they also identified the alleged operator of the stash house. Court documents state that agents located a man identified as Iven Jonathan Monjarez nearby.

During an interview with investigators, Monjarez allegedly said he was paid $100 a person for allowing migrants to stay in the apartment. Over the previous six months, he estimated that about 150 people had stayed inside the unit.

Federal agents also arrested two alleged “load drivers,” identified as Gabriel Garcia Lopez and Alvaro Ojeda Lopez, individuals authorities say were paid thousands of dollars to transport migrants to states along the East Coast.

One of the migrants found inside the apartment, identified in court documents as Pedro Gomez-Perez, told investigators he was “shocked” by how many people were inside the unit when he arrived.

“This is not just an Arizona problem, it is a national problem,” Hoffman said. “Until the scourge of human trafficking comes to an end once and for all, we’re going to continue to work on this issue.”

Monjarez and the two drivers are each facing federal felony charges related to transporting undocumented immigrants. The migrants found inside the apartment are expected to be processed for immigration violations and will enter deportation proceedings.

Attempts to reach management at the Ark on Desert Cove Apartments for comment were unsuccessful.

Hoffman said he believes this case may be one of several similar investigations federal agents are pursuing.

“I applaud the members of law enforcement, both locally and federally, that participated in this effort,” he said. “I’m grateful they took this gang down.”

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