PHOENIX (AP) - Forty-eight people accused of taking part in an immigrant trafficking ring were indicted on human smuggling and money laundering charges, authorities said Thursday.

Phoenix Police Lt. Vince Piano explains in detail how a smuggling ring brought four to six loads of six to 10 people across the border illegally each day along the San Pedro River and brought them to Phoenix where they were then sent off to their final destinations throughout the country. Piano said the complex operation involved everything from paying off corrupt police officials in Mexico to hiring people to coordinate transportation who then subcontracted with others who would hire rental cars and drive both the vehicles with the smuggled individuals as well as scout cars. (Capitol Media Services photo by Howard Fischer)

The group, whose top leaders were among those who face charges, brough in as much as $130,000 a week moving people from Naco, Mexico, to its center of operations in Phoenix and then to destinations across the United States, said Phoenix police Lt. Vince Piano.

Piano said the ring was believed to be one of the biggest operating in Arizona, the business illegal entry point into the country. Other smuggling groups are believed to be operating in the state.

``It’s not the end of the game, but we believe we have made some very important intelligence directions in the fight against the smugglers,’’ said Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, whose office was prosecuting the case.

Ten of the 48 people were arrested. An additional 10 who are expected to face charges in the future also were booked in the sweep, authorities said.

The investigation led to the discovery of 13 ``drop houses’’ in Phoenix where human smugglers hold customers until they pay up and are sent to their final destinations.

The Phoenix metropolitan area, whose proximity to the border has made it the nation’s busiest smuggling hub, is believed to have about 1,000 immigrant stash houses.

Authorities alleged that two Cuban immigrants living in the Phoenix area, 41-year-old Jose Luis Suarez-Lemus and 35-year-old Roel Ayala Fernandez, ran the ring and paid people in Mexico and Arizona to help in smuggling people.

``The police just came in the house and found no proof,’’ said Suarez-Lemus’ stepson, Daril Hidalgo, who answered the phone at the accused smuggler’s home and whose name wasn’t mentioned in the redacted indictment released to news reporters. The stepson said he didn’t the name of Suarez-Lemus’ lawyer.

It wasn’t immediately clear late Thursday afternoon whether Fernandez had a lawyer. He didn’t have a listed phone number.

The two paid recruiters in Mexico to find customers, Mexican police to allow smugglers to stage their crossings and trail guides to lead immigrants through the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area in southeast Arizona, Piano said.

Drivers were paid to bring the immigrants by van to Phoenix, and other drivers were used to spot law enforcement vehicles and protect rival smugglers from forcing them off the road in an attempt to kidnap and extort their customers. The smugglers also paid cooks to serve food in the drop houses, Piano said.

Once in a drop house and payments were made, drivers were hired to bring immigrants to spots across the country, authorities said.

The group would move four to six loads of immigrants per day, averaging six to 10 people per load. Smuggling fees averaged $2,500 per person.

Authorities said the investigation revealed a level of detail about immigrant smuggling that they weren’t previously aware of.

``We got information right down to the exact price of what they would pay cooks (and) drop house employees,’’ Piano said.

Phoenix Police Department: http://phoenix.gov/POLICE

Arizona Attorney General Office: http://www.azag.gov