KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A bar near the University of Tennessee's campus and the Knoxville Police Department are dispelling rumors regarding a Venezuelan gang operating within the city.
The police department posted a screenshot of a text thread being shared claiming Venezuelan men were arrested after trying to drug women with "roofies" at Cool Beans Bar and Grill over the weekend.
"That post is false. The KPD has not received any reports or made any arrests of that nature," KPD wrote in a Facebook post.
Cool Beans Bar and Grill also said it's not true.
"While we cannot speak to incidents occurring outside of Cool Beans, we want to assure you that nothing described in these messages has happened at our bar," Cool Beans said in a post online. "The story being shared is untrue and our priority is to ensure everyone in the Cool Beans Community feels safe."
This comes a week after Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch said during a budget hearing that a Venezuelan gang was operating in every major city in Tennessee. No East Tennessee county or city directly confirmed activity with the supposed gang as of Tuesday.
Rausch was talking about the "Tren de Aragua" gang. It's a criminal organization that's made headlines nationwide this year when false claims about members of the gang taking over an apartment building in Aurora, Colorado were posted on social media.
The gang started in a Venezuelan prison and is known for running human trafficking, drug and theft rings. The FBI confirmed the gang was active in the United States. Rausch said TBI's first run-in with the gang was a 2023 human trafficking case and he cited new intelligence during a budget hearing suggesting the gang is back in the state and will likely get into other illegal operations including retail theft and drugs.
WBIR reached out to 20 different law enforcement agencies in East Tennessee asking if they've seen any activity related to this gang. Of those 20 agencies, 12 responded saying they weren't aware of any activity in their area. The other eight counties have yet to respond.