Federal Authorities Disrupt Colorado Drug Trafficking Ring

On Wednesday, federal officials revealed that they have confiscated over 1,100 pounds of methamphetamine and charged 15 individuals following a two-year investigation targeting a Mexican drug syndicate in Colorado.

The Colorado Attorney General’s Office reported that 11 arrests have been made, though four others, including the suspected leader, have been released and are thought to have fled to Mexico.

According to Dave Olesky, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the investigation has uncovered connections to “Mexican elements associated with the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco Cartel.” However, Olesky did not take questions during the press briefing, and further details from the agency were limited.

The Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels, notorious for their operations, were among eight organizations recently labeled as foreign terrorist entities by the Trump administration.

The seized methamphetamine amounts to millions of individual doses, which is quite staggering when you think about it. Most of the 1,115 pounds (or 505 kilograms) was discovered hidden in a box of pear squash, imported from Mexico and located in April in Lakewood, a suburb of Denver.

A nearly 100-pound package was also intercepted on a Greyhound bus in Vail in December after authorities tracked a cellphone linked to the drug traffickers. They were ready when the bus arrived at the resort town, and U.S. Attorney Peter McNeely indicated that the drugs were destined for the Denver area.

“This is one supply chain that needed to be disrupted,” remarked FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Marv Massey.