When you hear what happened to 14-year-old Luis Antonio Gonzalez, you get a clearer picture of what some say is a disturbing trend in Houston.

Gonzalez was kidnapped in Northwest Harris County on Christmas Eve.

Investigators said, so-called “coyotes” were demanding his family pay more money for having smuggled another family member into Houston.

The family says they only had $900, but the smugglers wanted $4,000.

There's been a dramatic increase in smuggling and trafficking crimes here.

The Justice Department says there's been a 300-percent increase in trafficking prosecutions in just the last three years alone.

Andre Rodriguez of the YMCA's International Services says expect to see more.

“As immigration enforcement gets more and more tight, the smugglers, also known as coyotes, are becoming more brazen; more and more aggressive. More and more violent if you will,” said Rodriguez.

Rodriguez says many victims never speak out because they are afraid.

However, some cases make major headlines.

Earlier this year, smugglers shot at each other in a rolling gun fight on the Southwest Freeway as they fought over a load of illegal immigrants. One person was killed in the shootout.

While statistics show trafficking and smuggling are growing worse in Houston, some anti-illegal immigration groups are not so sure the immigration officers and local police are ready to handle the onslaught.

“The cases continue to pile on top of them and they get overwhelmed and they fall through the cracks,” said Curtis Collier of the Houston branch of U.S. Border Watch.

Meanwhile, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is getting involved.

Officials with ICE told 11 News they are looking at the possibility that Gonzalez’s abduction may be a part of a larger, organized crime smuggling operation.

ICE officials could not say if they would review the immigration status of anyone within the Gonzalez family. In addition to the family member that Gonzalez's mother paid to have brought to the United States, the 14-year-old kidnapping victim is himself an illegal immigrant.