Dramatic moment 11,000 cops storm lawless narco mega-prison to find casino, nightclub and ZOO inside
INCREDIBLE footage shows the moment 11,000 cops raided a gang-ruled prison to find a zoo, nightclub, pool and casino.
Tocoron prison, in Venezuela, is notoriously run by the country’s most powerful gang who built a mini city inside the jail walls.
Over 10,000 soldiers and police stormed the prison to find families living there with inmates in shacks with television and internet.
The dramatic raid saw tank-like armoured vehicles swarm the gates, violent clashes between inmates and cops and a fire break out.
Bizarre body cam footage shows flamingos making their way through a dirty pond in the prisons zoo as cops storm the compound.
The wildlife park was reportedly home to an array of wild beasts, including leopards, tigers, lions, crocodiles and pumas.
Members of the gang also enjoyed their own nightclub and restaurant, where inmates could eat and party with visitors.
Cops found a swimming pool next to a play area for children, and a baseball field.
Inmates also enjoyed gambling in a makeshift casino and illegally mined cryptocurrency in the mini city.
A huge blaze broke out during the siege on Wednesday, consuming the village where inmates’ families lived, the Telegraph reports.
Cops also found a network of tunnels, where some of the cartel bosses are believed to have escaped as authorities raided the ‘city’.
One of the underground passages had several exits, including one that led to a lake with three wooden rafts on the shore.
They also found an enormous arsenal of weapons inside the Aragua prison, including automatic rifles, pistols and ammunition.
For over 20 years the Tocoron jail served as the headquarters for the Tren de Aragua gang, who lived a life of resort-style freedom alongside inmates and their families.
The violent criminal network, made up of almost 3,000 members in Venezuela and more in other countries, have a long list of crimes.
From drug and arms trafficking to prostitution rings, illegal gold mining and extortion, the most powerful members were able to run their criminal activity from inside the jail.
The gang leader, Hector ‘Nino’ Guerrero, escaped with his cronies days before the bust following a tip-off, local media reported.
Guerrero, 39, was serving a 17-year sentence for murder and drug trafficking, but had free reign to come and go as he pleased, MailOnline reports.
Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro congratulated the armed forces and police for their efforts following the raid.
He wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “We are heading towards a Venezuela free of criminal gangs!”
Interior minister Remigio Ceballos added: “We have put an end to the irregularities in this space, we have detected some tunnels, in that tunnel system we have prevented a massive escape, and we have controlled all those deprived of liberty.”
He confirmed yesterday that 60 members of the violent gang had been arrested and four prison officials have also been held for allegedly allowing the smuggling of weapons.
The government later said it had launched an operation to capture any prisoners who fled as they closed in on the corrupt jail.
Between 400 and 500 inmates are still missing, according to Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional.
Families of the prisoners transferred to other jails waited outside the compound for information on where their relatives had been sent.
Electricity and phone signals were blocked hours before the dramatic raid, and local businesses were told to close, NTN24 reported.