A special police task force that had set out to capture a dangerous criminal wound up rescuing a lion, a tiger and a panther cub they found locked up on the property during the raid.

Officers reportedly discovered the three felines starving inside metal cages at the home in Tanhuato, in the Mexican state of Michoacan.

Authorities said they came across the cubs during a house search of an alleged criminal gang leader, who was not named, on 14th November.

Cops and military officers had joined together for the special operation that ended up being a rescue mission after they discovered there was no one at the property but the wild cats kept in captivity.

Phone footage shows them carefully boarding the animals on the back of their patrol vehicles before they handed them to the care of the Benito Juarez Zoo.

The Michoacan government said in a statement: “The located specimens were placed in safety, and the necessary actions were taken to ensure their well-being.

“Additionally, support was requested from the expert staff of the Benito Juarez Zoo in Morelia for their safekeeping.”

Julio Cesar Medina Avila, the zoo’s director, said the felines could have underlying metabolic disorders due to the poor nutrition they received.

Avila stated that the cubs, who are between three and four months old, will undergo quarantine and live in the facility for the time being.

Further examinations will determine if the lion, the tiger and the panther have gained any health issues while being kept captive.