2 Held on Suspicion of Kidnapping Immigrants

A man and woman have been arrested in a Riverside County casino on suspicion of kidnapping after demanding ransom for the release of two immigrants they had smuggled into the country, authorities said Friday.

Fernando Parada Laborin and Adriana Yesenia Arana, both 30 and from Phoenix, were taken into custody at the Spotlight 29 Casino near Coachella early Thursday after authorities found one of the immigrants shackled and tied to the floorboard of the suspects’ van, according to Dennis E. Gutierrez, a spokesman for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

Deputies had been alerted after a security guard noticed Laborin and Arana inside the casino with the second immigrant, who “appeared to be under duress.� Authorities believe they were awaiting word from the victims’ relatives on whether a ransom would be paid.

The two victims, both Mexican men whose names were not released, will be allowed to stay in the country to assist in the prosecutions of Laborin and Arana, Gutierrez said.

The kidnappings came on the same day that Coachella became the latest U.S. city to declare itself a “sanctuary� for illegal immigrants. Via a resolution, the city vowed not to use local police to enforce immigration laws.