Police in the Mexican state of Durango are being hailed as heroes after they freed dozens of ravers from a human zoo. “Members of the Los Locos Pocos Lobos Cartel kidnapped and enslaved ravers from around the world and placed them inside a bizarre human zoo,” claims lead investigator Maria Santos. “The scale of the operation is incredible, and the misery suffered by the prisoners indescribable. The existence of this human zoo emphasizes what police in Durango are up against."

Details of the human zoo are sparse at the moment, though some details have emerged, and the picture they paint isn’t pretty. “Victims are currently being examined by doctors at an undisclosed hospital,” says Maria. “We can’t comment on their individual conditions, but suffice it to say, they have been through a lot."

A source who was involved with shutting down the zoo said that the nightmare began five years ago. “One of the founding members of the Los Locos Pocos Lobos cartel thought ravers were ridiculous,” says the source. “Everything about ravers made him laugh. The way they dressed, the way they danced, the music they listened to — he thought it would be hilarious if the cartel owned a bunch of party kids. He then arranged to have ravers abducted, he built and designed cells for them, he came up with a thousand twisted ways to make them suffer. The key thing for this man was that his captives could never escape a raving atmosphere. They would be trapped inside a hellish party that never ended."

According to the source, the music never stopped. “He’d make them dance on command. Sometimes he’d force his captives to give each other tiger balm back rubs. That’s when he was being nice. When he was in a bad mood, things wouldn’t go so well for his slaves. He would often make them eat glowsticks."

The captives were apparently treated like the property of the entire cartel. “Any member could do anything to these ravers, except take them out of the rave. That was the only thing they couldn’t do. The party could never stop, though maybe party isn’t really the right word for what they experienced."