COLORADO SPRINGS — Colorado Springs Police (CSPD) said authorities arrested two men on outstanding warrants during a large-scale federal raid of an "undercover nightclub" in Colorado Springs on Sunday morning.
Police said 33-year-old Julio Santiesteban was arrested on a misdemeanor failure to appear warrant out of Adams County. Officers confirmed 29-year-old Pedro Trevizo-Perea was arrested on a misdemeanor active warrant for third-degree assault, criminal mischief, and child abuse out of Denver.
CSPD could not confirm if the two men are legal U.S. residents. News5 has reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for more information and we're waiting to hear back.
More than 300 law enforcement officers were involved in the federal raid early Sunday morning. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Rocky Mountain Division said authorities recovered several guns, cocaine, meth, and pink cocaine inside the illegal after-hours nightclub along South Academy Boulevard and Airport Road.
The DEA said federal agents are investigating drug trafficking, prostitution, and violent crimes at the property. Officials said more than 200 people were inside the building at the time of the raid. The DEA said agents arrested more than 100 people who were living in the country illegally and turned them over to ICE custody.
The investigation also found that at least a dozen active-duty military members were at the nightclub either as patrons or working as security.
A nearby resident told News5 he never suspected criminal activity at the building, but said he's happy authorities are investigating the space.
"I'm just really, really happy to see this stuff start happening," said Victor Vinson. "It looks like a shopping center. It's hidden from the street. So even driving by late at night, I wouldn't see any cars in the parking lot or anything because it's kind of off the main street."
News5 spoke with an employee at a liquor store across the parking lot who said the building did not house a nightclub, but instead an events center. The employee said the business would host events, like quinceañeras, from time to time. She said she never saw any suspicious behavior near the building at night.
Colorado Springs Police said it has received 138 calls for service to the location since March 2022. Of those calls, 41 were for suspicious vehicles or people, 16 were crime pattern investigations, and 15 were medical calls. There were also calls for general disturbances, theft, assault, trespassing, and narcotics investigations.
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Over 100 illegal immigrants and more than a dozen active-duty military members detained during raid
Over 100 undocumented immigrants and over a dozen active-duty military members were arrested in a DEA raid at an underground nightclub in Colorado Springs on Sunday.
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