DEA raids underground nightclub in Colorado Springs, more than 100 people detained Sunday morning

COLORADO SPRINGS — More than 300 law enforcement officers, both federal and local, are assisting Rocky Mountain Drug Enforcement Agency Operation Sunday morning in Colorado Springs.

According to the DEA, over 100 people in the country illegally have been detained at what they say is an underground nightclub in Colorado Springs. ICE responded to the scene to take those individuals into custody.

Drugs and weapons have been seized from what appears to be a strip mall behind the Conoco on Academy Boulevard. You can watch the moment the raid began below.

The DEA says that in the nightclub, they found pink cocaine, evidence of prostitution, and multiple firearms. The DEA estimates there were around 200 people inside the nightclub at the time of the raid, including more than a dozen U.S. active-duty service members. Special Agent in Charge, Jonathan Pullen, with DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division says those service members were either patrons or working as armed security guards at the underground nightclub. Pullen also says that Army Criminal Investigation Division is working with DEA. Watch Pullen provide updates on the operation in the video player below.

According to our crew on the scene, Airport Road was blocked eastbound at the South Academy intersection. Many different police cruisers, white vans, and armored vehicles can be seen.

Our crews at the scene were able to acquire video that shows a significant number of people detained and being questioned by police.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available. For more background on DEA operations across Colorado, see our Scripps News Group Partners coverage below.

Sunday’s operation is the latest in the DEA’s Colorado crackdown this year.

As the agency conducted four Denver-area operations on Jan. 29, special agent in charge David Olesky said an uptick in enforcement is due to a “renewed sense of purpose” at the agency under the Trump administration.

“We’re getting absolutely all the resources that we need not only at the federal level but at the local level as well,” he said at the time. “And when it comes to immigration, that is just one of the tools in the toolbox that we’re going to be able to use to remove those violent criminals and drug traffickers from the communities.”

Derek Maltz, who stepped into the role of acting administrator of the DEA shortly after President Trump’s inauguration, told Scripps News Investigates that Colorado is “ground zero” for violent criminals in the U.S. and that the state is home to the “command and control” of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

He said he believes criminals have taken advantage of vulnerabilities and weaknesses in the state, and that the border policies of recent years have been too open and allowed for too many people to cross the U.S. border unaccounted for.

“We love immigration. It makes this country great. Diversity is critical to the success of America. But we have to have a system," he said.

The DEA has faced obstacles

While the agency touted more than 90 arrests over 12 Colorado operations in less than three weeks between late January and early February, the DEA admitted to Denver7 Investigates that it expected more. A multi-city federal operation on Feb. 5 targeted more than 100 members of TdA but netted just one confirmed TdA arrest.Jonathan Pullen, a DEA special agent in charge, said he believes the targeted criminals were feeling the pressure.“What we found was that they weren't where we expected them to be," he said. “It's likely that the pressure that we've put on these folks over the last several weeks has encouraged them to hide more.”

• CONTEXT: Trump’s “border czar” said leaks from local media outlets blew the feds’ cover. Immigrant rights advocates told Denver7 it was just a matter of preparedness.

But in some cases, even those who have been arrested haven’t been punished. An event billed as a “TdA invite-only party” in Adams County netted 49 arrests, but none of the suspects ended up facing charges. Pullen said drugs and guns were found at the party, but that it was difficult to prove possession because of a chaotic scene.

Denver7's Landon Haaf helped contribute to this report.

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