Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Immigration and Customs Enforcement arresting a suspect during an operation in 2005 Wikimedia Commons

More than 100 immigrants, including children, have been rescued by police in Houston, Texas, from a stash house where they were being held against their will.

A total of 94 men and 15 women, one of whom was pregnant, were discovered inside the house, police spokesman John Cannon told CNN.

"The rest of the house was cordoned off, and it's where the individuals held against their will were staying -- in squalid conditions. There was one bathroom. It was filthy," the spokesman added.

Charges are pending against five people, who all have been arrested.

One room, where the suspects are believed to have stayed, had a mattress, fridge and weapons.

"No one looked to be seriously injured inside the home. They were very hungry and thirsty, and our officers gave them things to eat and provided water," Cannon added.

I've been here over five years and this is the largest number of people we've encountered at one residence
- ICE spokesman Greg Palmore

The immigrants – whose age range from 5 to 47 – are from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico and are currently in ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement ) custody, according to ICE spokesman Greg Palmore.

Palmore also added that 95 men and not 94, were rescued.

It is not clear why Cannon and Palmore reported different numbers.

"I've been here over five years and this is the largest number of people we've encountered at one residence," Palmore concluded.

Most of those rescued said they had been at the house for two to four days, but one woman said she had been there 15 days.

According to Cannon, police were contacted by family members of a missing 24-year-old woman on Tuesday night.

They were supposed to meet a suspect holding the woman and two children, aged 5 and 7, for ransom.

When the suspect did not show to make the exchange, however, the family notified police.

The spokesman declined to say why authorities then set up surveillance at the house in south Harris County, Houston.

When a vehicle left the residence, a patrol car pulled it over on a traffic stop.

Police found weapons inside the car, as well as papers indicating criminal activity, inside the car.

Authorities then entered the house and found the detained immigrants.