DEA Raids Underground Club in Colorado Springs: Active Duty Military Caught in the Act
A DEA raid early Sunday morning has rocked Colorado Springs. Authorities busted an underground nightclub run by an illegal alien gang. The club quickly turned into a law enforcement battleground, with over a dozen active duty military members in the mix.
Some service members were working as armed security. Others were simply hanging out at the club. According to DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division Special Agent in Charge John Pullen, the club was a hotbed of crime. Pullen explained that these military personnel were involved in criminal activity at the venue.
Screen image from video below showing various federal and local law enforcement agencies involved in the raid.
Pullen was blunt when he told reporters that “significant drug trafficking, prostitution” and “crimes of violence” were happening at the club. Guns and drugs were also seized during the raid. Out of the more than 200 people present, over 100 illegal aliens were arrested and later taken into custody by ICE.
He mentioned that the raid was the result of several months of undercover work. During the investigation, members linked to Tren de Aragua, MS-13, and the Hells Angels were spotted at the club. Pullen was quick to note that he couldn’t confirm whether any gang members were detained.
This is what Pullen had to say:
Pullen: “So this is an underground illegal nightclub, okay? And what was happening inside was significant drug trafficking, prostitution, um, crimes of violence, we seized a number of guns in there. We had active uh duty service members who were uh, running security at the club and involved in some of these crimes. Um, and in fact we had uh, over a hundred illegal aliens inside as well and those over a hundred illegal aliens were taken into custody by ICE.”
Reporter: “Active duty service members helping as security here, can you elaborate on that at all?”
Pullen: “So it’s an ongoing investigation but um, we had over a dozen active duty service members in the, in the club tonight either as patrons or working as armed security.”
Reporter: “How many of those were detained and, and what are they facing right now?”
Pullen: “So, Army CID was one of our partners out here and they’re going to work with us on what the next steps for those active duty service members looks like.”
SKIP
Reporter: “Jonathan, you talked about ‘the investigation is ongoing’, but talk to me about, talk to us about the significance of active duty military being investigated for drug related crimes at this location.”
Pullen: “Yes, it’s obviously concerning to have active duty military involved. Um, we’re working with our partners at Army CID on that piece. Um, obviously where we are here in the Springs there’s a lot of military bases here so it’s not necessarily surprising, um, but we’re going to take that very seriously.”
SKIP
Reporter: “Real quick, can you confirm if those active duty were related to Fort Carson?”
Pullen: “I cannot.”
Transcribed by TGP.
A video excerpt posted by KMGH-TV gives a quick look at what went down:
For more details, check out a complete briefing posted by KMGH:
UPDATE: Fox News reported that the service members are being closely looked at. Here’s an excerpt:
About a dozen U.S. active-duty service members were also found at the club, special DEA Rocky Mountain agent Jonathan Pullen told multiple outlets. The service members were inside the club as patrons or working as armed security.
“I think that everybody that goes into a nightclub at 3 o’clock in the morning knows what they’re getting into,” Pullen said to Denver 7. “The active duty servicemembers who were there will be dealt with by Army CID [Criminal Investigation Division]. They were on scene with us, and they are partners in this investigation.”
DEA Rocky Mountain confirmed to Fox News that those active duty service members found at the club have so far been detained and are not under arrest at this time.
This whole mess raises serious questions. How can active duty military be mixed up in such dangerous, illegal activities? It’s a hard-hitting reminder that no one is above the law—even those trusted to protect us. Law enforcement is cracking down hard, and you can bet there will be more fallout as the investigation winds on.
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