HOUSTON, Texas -- Authorities in the Houston area have rescued at least 115 people held against their will in a human smuggling operation.

The men, women and children are from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico and had been held in the squalid stash house for several days, The Houston Chronicle reported.

Officials told the newspaper the people were literally on stop of each other in a small, single–story house with one bathroom, no hot water and little food.

A frantic mother called police on Tuesday night saying family members were kidnapped and she had been contacted about paying ransom, the Los Angeles Times reported. She called police when the alleged kidnappers didn't show for the exchange.

Local and federal authorities began watching the house on Wednesday morning.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have arrested five men on suspicion of running a smuggling ring, agency spokesman Gregory Palemore told The Los Angeles Times. They had not yet been formally charged.

Authorities are calling the operation the largest busted in the region in at least five years.