COLORADO SPRINGS — 14 of the 104 people detained in the federal raid of an illegal nightclub in Colorado Springs last month had been facing criminal charges or convictions, Denver7 Investigates learned on Thursday.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told Denver7 Investigates 18 of the 104 detained were set to be deported at the time of the raid.
Members of several federal agencies descended on the "Warike" nightclub in the early morning hours of April 27, targeting an operation that allegedly involved drug trafficking, prostitution and crimes of violence.
Seventeen active duty service members were at the club, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, either as patrons or working as security. Army Staff Sgt. Juan Gabriel Orona-Rodriguez has since been arrested on federal drug charges and is suspected of having held a leadership position in an unauthorized security operation at the Warike club and others.
Federal officials said a total of 104 people living in the U.S. without documentation, from nine different countries, were detained as a result of the operation. Those countries include Guatemala, Cuba, El Salvador, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Nicaragua, Chile, and Honduras.
On Thursday, Denver7 Investigates learned more about some of those people detained.
Among them were a suspected drug distributor and another member of the Sinaloa cartel, one of the most powerful cartels in the world that once operated under the leadership of Juan "El Chapo" Guzman, according to ICE.
Seven of the detainees had DUI convictions, according to the agency. Others had convictions for possessing and smuggling drugs, assault and drug possession.
One detainee had been previously arrested for theft of more than $100,000, another allegedly attempted to smuggle meth into ICE custody and yet another was believed to be part of "a criminal organization tied to credit card skimming, fuel theft, and illegal marijuana grow," ICE said.
Eighteen of the detainees had been facing a final order of removal, meaning they were required to leave the country. The 86 people who had not been facing deportation before the raid remained in ICE custody.
Drugs linked to the Sinaloa cartel were also recovered from the scene, though the DEA has told Denver7 Investigates that charges stemming from those drugs were unlikely because it could not prove individual possession. ICE said a dozen firearms were also seized.
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