HOUSTON, TX (CBS) -- Houston police say five men, dressed as police raid officers, "raided" an illegal gaming establishment Tuesday evening. The men were imposters who stole from the business and now the real police are on their trail.
Surveillance cameras inside this Southeast Houston business captured these amazing pictures of what appears to be a Houston Police Department investigation raid. Look closely and you can see 5-men wearing badges and raid jackets and they're all carrying weapons; one is even carrying an assault rifle.
But there's a problem, these men are not officers, they're suspects. And now real investigators are going undercover trying to find them.
One undercover officer says, "These guys are organized. It looks like they're trained. Each of them have a role to play. One of them takes the security guard; one of them takes the door. The other two escort the customers out of the business. You know it's something similar to a raid HPD would do."
Police say in the last week this particular crew has hit 3-illegal game rooms taking more than $20,000 and witnesses tell us they appeared to arrive at the illegal business in an undercover police car.
The first game room hit was on Tidwell. Two more were robbed Wednesday; one at I-10 and Wayside, the other on Edgebrook where the video was captured. Video police are hoping will help them solve this case. Some of the suspects are not wearing masks and police hope someone will recognize them.
The officer says, "We're trying to get those guys ID'd. and the other thing is, on the 3-cases they've used a black 4-door impala between 95-and-2000."
And the car is equipped with some sort of siren and police light. At least 3-of the men appear to be Hispanic, and investigators say they could be Zetas, members of the drug cartel gang that is showing up more and more in Houston.