A federal grand jury handed down indictments Wednesday against six people accused of holding illegal immigrants against their will inside a house in San Marcos.

The immigrants were discovered in July during a search of the house. The 22 immigrants -- from Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico and Nicaragua -- said they were forcibly being held until friends or family paid smuggling fees.

Rosalinda Trevino-Alvarez, Luz Maria Garcia-Garza, Julio Cesar Salgado-Ortega, Alejandro Guzman-Ortega, Argeo Salgado-Ortega and Saul Romero-Salgado have each been indicted on charges of conspiracy to smuggle, transport and harbor illegal aliens, hostage taking, forced labor and conspiracy to use or possess a firearm during a crime of violence. Trevino, Garcia, Salgado and Guzman also face a charge of alien harboring.

“Today’s indictment is a first step in disrupting a substantial human trafficking and smuggling operation based in San Marcos,” said United States Attorney Johnny Sutton in a news release. “These organizations often operate in the shadows and can be tough to break but the government believes this one was significant.”