DENVER — Three of 19 people detained by Aurora police after a gang-related home invasion and kidnapping at the Edge of Lowry apartments Monday night have been released, police said.

The trio was released by Aurora police after they were interviewed and investigators determined they weren’t involved in the Monday night incident, Police Department spokesperson Joe Moylan said.

The 16 other suspects were arrested on immigration violations and remain in federal custody Thursday, according to a U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement spokesperson.

Investigators detained the 19 people from the Aurora apartment complex Tuesday for questioning after a man and a woman were forcibly removed from their apartment to another vacant unit, bound, pistol-whipped, threatened and tortured for hours, according to the police department.

Police said the man was also stabbed and is expected to survive, but no update on his condition was available Thursday.

The 16 suspects remaining in federal custody are all undocumented Venezuelan immigrants and are suspected of being members or associates of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua prison gang, the ICE spokesperson said. They will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings or hearings before an immigration judge.

The federal immigration proceedings don’t prevent prosecutors from charging the gang members with state crimes, Moylan said.

Moylan said the Aurora investigation is ongoing and charges are pending against all 16 suspects.

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