(COLORADO SPRINGS) — In the early morning hours of Sunday, April 27, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Rocky Mountain Field Division (DEA RMFD) led an operation at an illegal underground nightclub in Colorado Springs where drug trafficking and prostitution were identified through a months-long investigation.
With the help of 300 law enforcement personnel representing 10 other federal agencies and local partners, including the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO), the DEA RMFD led the operation, which began around 3:45 a.m. on Sunday near South Academy Boulevard and Airport Road.
“This is an underground, illegal nightclub and what was happening inside was significant drug trafficking, prostitution, crimes of violence, [and] we seized a number of guns in there,” said DEA RMFD Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Pullen.
Enrique Palencia, who was inside when police were trying to get inside the building, described the moments leading up to everything happening.
“I saw the police lights through the window, and I was wondering what was going on, and the moment I was wondering, I just heard a bang on the window, and then they literally just broke the window,” Palencia said.
Palencia added that tear gas was thrown in to try to get everyone out. Of those who were inside, over a dozen active-duty service members were also found at the club, according to Pullen.
“We had active duty service members who were running security at the club and involved in some of these crimes, and in fact, we had over 100 illegal aliens inside as well, and… the illegal aliens were taken into custody by ICE.”
The were 200 people inside the club at the time of the operation, and while Pullen said many were turned away, others were arrested on outstanding state arrest warrants. As for the active-duty service members, Pullen said his team is working with the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID).
“It’s obviously concerning to have active-duty military involved; we are working with our partners at Army CID on that piece,” he said. “Obviously, where we are in the Springs, there are a lot of military bases here, so it’s not necessarily surprising, but we are going to take that very seriously.”
As far as the drugs confiscated during Sunday’s operation, here’s what Pullen had to say:
“So as you may suspect, when the cops showed up at the door, most of the drugs hit the floor. We did find some cocaine, it looks like some pink cocaine or the tusi, and there was a little bit of other drugs; we haven’t had time to test everything, but there were dozens of small packages of drugs that they have recovered so far, that I have personally seen.”
Pullen said this has been a long-term investigation by the DEA RMFD and several of its federal partners.
“So we have been working on this underground nightclub for a number of months… to identify what’s going on here, and again, months-long information about drug trafficking and prostitution happening inside,” he said.
Through the investigation, Pullen said they were able to identify other groups at the underground nightclub.
“In our investigation, we have noticed TdA, MS-13, and I believe Hells Angels in this club; I don’t have the information about whether those members were there tonight, but we are still working through a lot of that because we have so many people in custody, we are working through the information about who’s who,” Pullen added.
Courtesy: Drug Enforcement Adnimistration Rocky Mountain Field Division
Courtesy: Drug Enforcement Adnimistration Rocky Mountain Field Division
Courtesy: Drug Enforcement Adnimistration Rocky Mountain Field Division
Courtesy: Drug Enforcement Adnimistration Rocky Mountain Field Division
After today’s operation, Pullen had this message for the community:
“DEA is going to continue to work to keep our community safe, no matter what the criticism is. We are not going to accept drug trafficking and prostitution in our cities, and so absolutely, Colorado Springs is waking up to a safer city this Sunday morning.”
