when running the merge api, invalid_data api response due to merging ticket in recycle bin; but there are no tickets in the bin

when running the merge api, invalid_data api response due to merging ticket in recycle bin; but there are no tickets in the bin

Below is the error that I'm facing. I initially tested my code in sandbox and it worked great. I copied it over into production and started to catch the error. I checked the recycle bin and there were some "test" tickets that I did not know about. I removed them permanently from the recycle bin and executed my script again. Again, still getting the same API error message. I ran some debug logs to see what ticket ids were being merged. After checking many ticket ids that were showing up in the error message as deleted tickets, it turned out that the ticket ids referenced in the error message were not deleted and were very much open and active. I've tried everything to figure this out. Any help would be greatly appreciated

{"errorCode":"INVALID_DATA","message":"The data is invalid due to validation restrictions","errors":[{"fieldName":"ticketId","errorType":"invalid","errorMessage":"This is a deleted 'ticket'. You can restore the entry from the Recycle Bin of your Zoho Desk portal."}]}