Chicago cops are being trained on how to spot Tren de Aragua gang bangers as the vicious Venezuelan criminals traffic “pink cocaine” and rapidly expand their territory into the Windy City, according to memos viewed by The Post.
Officers within Chicago’s Police Department — the second largest in the country — have been given intel materials in recent months alerting them to the slew of tattoos the violent prison gang brandish, the records, which were obtained by America First Legal, show.
The document — titled “officer safety / awareness / intel” — also warned that the drug of choice for the gang is “pink cocaine.”
The mystery narcotic, also known as “Tusi”, is the same powdery substance allegedly beloved by Sean “Diddy” Combs and the one apparently found in One Direction crooner Liam Payne’s system after his shock death.
“Drug of choice is Pink Cocaine which is a mixture of several drugs and can vary between different narcotics. E.g Ecstasy, Amphetamines, LSD, or other synthetic drugs’,” the memo, which was obtained through Freedom of Information Act filings, warned.
“When encountering Pink Cocaine treat as if recovering Fentanyl as it is often used as well.”
The drug, which has been blowing through New York City’s illicit drug scene of late, usually sells for at least $100 per gram on the streets, a federal law enforcement source told The Post.
Experts, meanwhile, have warned there is no set formula for the “new and up and coming” substance — making its growing popularity all the more concerning.
“It’s not like real cocaine,” former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special operations division chief Derek Maltz told The Post, adding that Tren de Aragua is “going to do everything they can to make money.”
Meanwhile, the documents also detail the favored tattoos that are inked on gang members — ranging from doves, roses and owls to rifles, gas masks and even Popeye the Sailor.
“Tattoos are big with these guys,” the memo states.
“They’ll be seen dressed like rappers and wearing black & red jerseys like Bulls, Blackhawks or Jordan apparel,” it continues, adding that Tren de Aragua members are “believed to be involved with narcotics, human and sex trafficking and extortion.”
The materials shed light, too, on the gang’s expanding presence and criminal activities across multiple states.
It comes after Homeland Security officials were warned in an internal department intelligence memo earlier this month that the gang had expanded its territory to at least 16 states.
The gang now has footholds in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, Virginia, Montana, Wyoming and Washington, DC.
Tren de Aragua has been able to set up shop in several sanctuary cities scattered across the country under the Biden administration after members flood across the border posing as migrants seeking asylum.
President-elect Donald Trump has already vowed that cracking down on the gang will be a top priority for his administration, which he says will carry out a historic “mass deportation” effort leveraging not only ICE but the US military.