Federal authorities arrested two individuals Friday at a Los Angeles residence allegedly tied to an Iranian human smuggling network that has repeatedly harbored illegal entrants with suspected links to terrorism, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced.
The arrests were part of a broader national security operation involving multiple federal agencies. CBP confirmed on X (formerly Twitter) that a federal search warrant had been executed at the property.
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“CBP executed a federal search warrant today at a human smuggling hub in Los Angeles tied to national security threats,” the agency stated. “Two individuals were arrested during the operation, which was led by CBP’s Special Response Team with support from Border Patrol tactical units and Air and Marine Operations.”
The names of the two arrested individuals have not been released.
According to CBP, the same location was also the site of a previous raid in which seven Iranian nationals were detained earlier last week. All seven were reportedly on the FBI Terror Watchlist and connected to the same Iranian human smuggling network.
“The location has been repeatedly used to harbor illegal entrants linked to terrorism,” CBP said.
CBP Assistant Commissioner Hilton Beckham warned that the smuggling ring had trafficked individuals from “adversarial regimes,” including Iran—raising significant concerns for U.S. national security.
“Intelligence indicates the smuggling network has trafficked individuals from adversarial regimes, including Iran—posing direct risks to U.S. national security,” Beckham said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
The agency emphasized its commitment to proactively targeting such threats.
“Under @POTUS, CBP is taking aggressive action to shut down smuggling networks and remove national security threats before they can do harm,” CBP said.
Beckham credited the success of the operation to President Donald Trump’s strong stance on national security.
“President Trump is clear: the safety of the American people comes first,” Beckham said.
