A nightclub in Antioch was raided by federal law enforcement officers early Sunday morning in what reportedly was an operation related to a drug and human trafficking investigation.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed to WKRN that officers began executing “federal court-authorized search and arrest warrants” at the Miami nightclub located inside the strip mall at 2045 Antioch Pike at around 5:30 a.m. on Sunday.
Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) Special Operations Unit, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ERO officers were also present at the scene, photos taken by WKRN show.
Notably, officers with the Metro Nashville Police Department were not among the agencies involved with the raid.
The outlet further reports that authorities were seen carrying boxes of evidence out of the nightclub and said the doors of nearly every business part of the strip mall were “knocked down,” as Metro Nashville Council Member Joy Styles (District 32) told WSMV that the other businesses were also “engaging in the illegal activities.”
While the raid saw over 100 individuals who were presumably inside the nightclub at the time of the incident detained in handcuffs and questioned by law enforcement agencies outside of the venue, it remains unclear how many, if any, individuals were arrested or charged as no additional information has been released about the operation.
A man who was inside the nightclub when the raid occurred told WSMV that the law enforcement officers were “looking for someone,” while another man inside the venue added, “You could hear stun grenades going off.”
Metro Nashville Council Member David Benton (District 28) will reportedly have a meeting on Wednesday to discuss Sunday’s tactical operation at the nightclub, WSMV reports.
Sunday’s operation in the federal investigation into drugs and human trafficking comes weeks after eight Venezuelan nationals, two of which are connected to the violent Tren de Aragua gang, were indicted on charges relating to a separate human trafficking operation being run out of Nashville.
Further, in January, five Venezuelan men were arrested as part of another human trafficking investigation into a suspected brothel at a property in Antioch.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
