ABILENE, Texas — An Abilene man was arrested and charged with human trafficking after a migrant he allegedly forced into labor escaped and spoke to the Texas Attorney General's Office, Human Trafficking Unit.
According to documents filed in Taylor County, in February 2022, the OAG received a statement from Javier Rodriguez-Castro about being brought to the United States from the Honduras and forced into labor in Abilene.
Rodriguez-Castro said he contacted a man he knew as "Chapin", later identified as Gerardo Quijada-Soto, on Facebook. Quijada-Soto smuggled Rodriguez-Castro and 12 other people from the Honduras by train and on foot through Mexico, the document stated.
According to Rodriguez-Castro, the group crossed the border at McAllen on Jan. 8, 2021. Rodriguez-Castro said he was taken to a stash house in Houston, then taken to Abilene by Quijada-Soto. In Abilene, Rodriguez-Castro said he was taken to the Fun Noodle restaurant, where he saw Quijda-Soto and a man, later identified as Hai Zhuang, exchange a large stack of money ($50s and $100s).
Rodriguez-Castro said he was told he owed six months of labor, then he would be paid $2,000 per month. He said he was also told he would be given food and shelter, but just in case they forgot to feed him, he should "buy noodles".
After being taken to an Abilene home by Zhuang, Rodriguez-Castro said his passport was thrown into a water heater closet. He said he was taken back and forth to the restaurant daily and not allowed to leave the house alone. Rodriguez-Castro said he was forced to work 10-12 hours per day without breaks, including not being able to take bathroom breaks.
The document states Rodriguez-Castro said he was not fed regularly and had to eat scraps left by restaurant customers. He said he was beaten by Zhuang.
After six months of working at the Fun Noodle, Rodriguez-Castro said he requested his $2,000 pay and Zhuang told him he owned him now.
In July or August 2021, Rodriguez-Castro was able to escape to Dallas with the help of an unknown man.
The OAG was able to corroborate Rodriguez-Castro's story through their investigation. They found the Houston stash house, as well as the house where Rodriguez-Castro was held and the white van used to transport him in Abilene.
Zhuang was booked into the Taylor County Jail Nov. 2 for second-degree felony trafficking of a person. His bond was set at $200,000.
