ST. LANDRY PARISH, La. (KLFY) – Around 9 a.m. this morning, deputies with the St. Landry Parish Narcotics Division responded to a call about human trafficking and drugs at a residence on Raiders Road near Opelousas.

Upon arriving on the scene, a foot chase led to the capture of an unidentified Hispanic man. Once the suspect was apprehended, a search warrant was issued for the residence. When deputies enter the residence, they found several other individuals inside the home.

“Five undocumented Hispanic males and two other Hispanic males were located at the home,” said Major Mark Leblanc with the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office.

He says besides the one suspect who initiated the foot pursuit, all other individuals cooperated with law enforcement.

“The remaining gentleman at the scene were cooperative, they weren’t combatant,” said Leblanc.

Deputes determined five of the suspects did not have identification.

“We made the determination that give males were illegal aliens and they were taken into ICE custody,” explained Leblanc.

Leblanc says ICE quickly arrived on the scene to assist their deputies.

“The response of the ICE agents out of Lafayette was immediate,” he said.

Federal authorities have taken over the investigation. Leblanc says it will be up to them to identify the individuals in their custody.

“I don’t know what their protocols are,” said Leblanc. “I’m sure they’re going to interview and attempt to identify them and then ICE will follow their protocols going forward.”

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