GABRIELA RICO

Federal agents in southern Arizona are seeing an upsurge in kidnapping, torturing and abandoning illegal immigrants as smugglers lash out at increased enforcement efforts, officials say.

While U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's ICE Storm initiative in Phoenix has proven successful in reducing smuggling-related violence, the problem has moved to surrounding areas.

Earlier this month, 13 agents were assigned to the ICE Tucson office, which oversees the Arizona region south of Casa Grande, and an undisclosed number are expected next month, said Matthew C. Allen, resident agent in charge of the Nogales office.

Officials could not give crime statistics to verify the upswing in violence, but the change has been noticeable, Allen said.

"Violent tendencies are showing up in Tucson that we didn't see before," he said. "It's not a good sign."

Last weekend, agents received what has become a frequent call: an illegal immigrant being held by smugglers attempting to extort money from family members in Mexico, Allen said.

Three people were arrested and an illegal immigrant was found to have been badly beaten, he said.

The law enforcement pressure also has resulted in large groups of illegal immigrants being left in the desert, Allen said.

Last week, 114 immigrants who said they had been abandoned by their smugglers were found near Wickenburg. They told officials they had been without food for several days, said Roger Maier, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

In the past two weeks, Eloy police have found at least five drop houses with illegal immigrants, Eloy police Detective Sgt. Frank Nolasco said.

"It's happened in the past, but it wasn't occurring like it is now. It seems like it's really increased," Nolasco said.

Crimes related to immigrant smuggling, including thefts and aggravated assaults, also have shot up in Eloy over the past several months, Nolasco said.

Sgt. William Seltzer, a spokesman for the Buckeye Police Department, has seen a surge in vehicles smuggling illegal immigrants through Buckeye on Arizona 85, a back route into Phoenix.

The ports of entry are encountering people trying to cross with fake documents or false claims of citizenship, he said.

"We've intensified our enforcement at the ports of entry," Maier said. "We were aware that this would be an (alternative) avenue."

In Nogales, Chief Immigration Inspector Gary Rehbein is seeing new tactics. He said smugglers are leasing car-and-phony-document packages to people who want to get into the United States.

If they get through, they meet up with the smugglers for the next leg of the journey north, Rehbein said.

"The smugglers don't want to be in the picture at the port of entry," he said.

Russell Ahr, spokesman for the Phoenix ICE office, said the shift in strategy was expected.

"As ruthless as smugglers may be, they are still business people," he said. "They will adapt to our strategies."

Arizona Republic reporter Daniel González contributed to this article.