Lorain County deputies take 13 Central American men into custody in labor trafficking bust (UPDATE)

This story has been updated with new information. ELYRIA — More than a dozen men were taken into custody Friday as part of a labor trafficking investigation by the Lorain County Sheriff's Office. Deputies arrested 13 people, including nine from Guatemala and four from Mexico, who were taken into custody as nonresidents. The Sheriff's Office then called for assistance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Border Patrol. All 13 men were taken into federal custody. The incident happened just after 8:30 a.m. near Leona Street and Griswold Road in Elyria. According to a news release, deputies were conducting an ongoing investigation into a labor trafficking ring Investigators stopping three vehicles including one that being used by a suspect who was in the country illegally. Sheriff Jack Hall said the man had been deported twice, but was caught in the country illegally for a third time Friday. Of the vehicles stopped Friday, two were reportedly owned by companies under suspicion of labor trafficking. Hall said at least 11 of the men were alleged victims of labor trafficking. Two ran from the traffic stop and were found hiding under a large mulch pile at Pandy's Garden Center. One of the men was wanted on a warrant in California on charges of rape, incest, threatening a crime with intent to terrorize and false imprisonment. Hall said traffickers and the companies they run sneak people into the country illegally, get them hired to do construction or other labor at the local prevailing wage then pay the workers a small portion of that — usually about $5 per hour, Hall said. The traffickers then pocket the difference, he said. The Sheriff's Office did not name any of the 13 men who were not charged with any crimes in Lorain County. All 13 were handed over to the custody of federal agents. "This is becoming a more-frequent problem in Northeast Ohio because we're running into people who are coming back into the country and doing the same thing," Hall said Friday.