Federal investigators are looking into "possible human trafficking" at a Saudi diplomatic compound in Virginia, Department of Homeland Security officials told NBC Washington.
Federal agents were called overnight Tuesday to a Virginia home, which is owned by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where two women were escaping, NBC reports:
Agents from U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement/Homeland Security Investigations and Fairfax County police were called to a home in the 6000 block of Orris Street in McLean overnight and, in the words of a source familiar with the investigation, "rescued" two women. One woman reportedly tried to flee by squeezing through a gap in the front gate as it was closing.
It's not clear if the women, who sources say are from the Philippines, called investigators to the home themselves or if someone else did.
The home is located in McLean, Va., near the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency.
The investigation could be complicated by the potential diplomat status of some of those involved, according to NBC.
Update (5:14 p.m.): A DHS official confirmed the investigation to BuzzFeed Wednesday. Asked for comment on the ownership of the compound, a spokesperson for the Saudi Embassy told BuzzFeed the following:
"We don't know anything about that," said a spokesperson for the Saudi Embassy when reached by phone on Wednesday. "The report that we got is that the house belongs to the Saudi armed forces, like the military office."