Image of cages via Fresno County Sheriff's Office.

The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office has debunked a video that was circulating online that led some people to believe metal cages on a ranch near Caruthers were being used to confine people.

A video that has since been deleted from YouTube shows several cages on a ranch. Two people off camera drive by the cages and remark that they have toilets inside of them. They speculate they are being used to hold people.

That was the assumption viewers also had, leading them to place “many calls” to the Sheriff’s Office concerned the cages were being used for human trafficking, field workers or other inhumane purposes, according to a news release.

The special Investigations Division looked into the allegations, identified the location of the cages and found out they were formerly used by the California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation for inmates to participate in outdoor activities.

The holding cells were retired from service. A local metal recycling business obtained them and stored them to be repurposed to protect agricultural supplies and irrigation pumps from theft.