Associated Press - November 24, 2009 8:14 PM ET

PHOENIX (AP) - The U.S. Attorney's office in Phoenix says seven men from Mexico have been sentenced to prison for carrying guns during a violent crime.

All seven defendants had pleaded guilty to hostage taking.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton on Monday sentenced 23-year-old Oscar Daniel Hernandez-Juarez and 38-year-old Jaime Zamora-Martinez to 10 years in federal prison for using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a violent crime. The other five men received sentences of 5 to eight years in prison.

El Mirage police officers discovered 37 men and one woman dressed in their underwear crammed into a house in January. The bedroom windows of the house had been covered with boards.

Witnesses say the smugglers were holding them hostage at gunpoint until family members paid a ransom.

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