We investigate the role of the environment in processing molecular gas in radio galaxies (RGs). We observed five RGs at z=0.4-2.6 in dense Mpc-scale environment with the IRAM-30m telescope. We set four upper-limits and report a tentative CO(7-6) detection at signal-to-noise ratio SNR> 2 for COSMOS-FRI 70, at z=2.63. If the detection will be confirmed at higher SNR, COSMOS-FRI 70 will become the most distant brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) candidate detected in CO. We speculate that the cluster environment might have played a role in preventing the refueling via environmental mechanisms such as galaxy harassment, strangulation, ram-pressure, or tidal stripping. The RGs of this work are excellent targets for ALMA as well as next generation telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope.