/ CBS Colorado. U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn, at the lectern, speaks with reporters Feb. 19, 2020 providing details of a massive drug bust involving Aurora suspects. Updated: Feb 19, 2020 / 06:11 PM MST. With a big bust like this one, there are almost always an array of charges involved. CBS4's Karen Morfitt spoke to Marion Rorke, Substance Use Coordinator for DDPHE, in February about the program that launched in September 2021. Drug bust - definition of drug bust by The Free Dictionary Agents identified Beltran as the leader of the group. "The influx of fake prescription opioids is a growing and deadly concern for this office. An eight-month investigation into a drug trafficking ring based in metro Denver led law enforcement to seize 110,000 fentanyl pills, 13 pounds of meth, 8 pounds of heroin, 24 pounds of cocaine and $450,000 in cash hidden in houses, apartments and secret compartments in cars. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. IRS Special Agent in Charge Amanda Prestegard said, Its crucially important to include a financial component in investigation of drug related crime. 2020 / 07:49 PM MDT. The find was part of a coordinated Aurora drug bust announced Feb. 19, 2020. September 3, 2021 / 3:46 PM Armed with search warrants, several police units converged on two residences in the community on Sept. 15, the Nipissing West Ontario Provincial Police said in a . And what we're seeing right now is a sort of corporatization in the cannabis industry and big Wall Street-backed companies that are starting in multiple states. The Avalanche championship dynasty crumbles less than a year after hoisting the Stanley Cup. I spent considerable time trying to get in touch with each and every person. Over the course of 8 months, authorities determined a drug trafficking ring led by Saul Ramon Rivera-Beltran, of Thornton, coordinated drug shipments and deals with a cartel in Mexico. You can try to do it outside, but that's seriously exposed and easy to see from the air. Moreover, it would answer this main question in my mind, "If Colorado had a seemingly thriving legal market, why would you take risks to set up this massive black market operation?". This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Then if you only had the perspective of the drug smuggling group, it would be skewed in another direction. October 9, 2022 at 11:49 a.m. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Then approaching alleged members of this group was a whole other path that I had to go down. Cannabis is a big business and there's a lot of consumer demand for it, so the competition for a limited number of licenses is really stiff. 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I mean, California is experiencing problems on that front because weed is so heavily taxed there that many people are still choosing to use their street dealer rather than buying it a dispensary. "We really do this for a lot of reasons. Of the 30 defendants indicted, 24 have been arrested and one is in state custody on a separate charge. Devin Booker sulked. Between 2019 and 2020, the number of overdose deaths in Colorado involving fentanyl more than doubled, from 222 to 540. ", RELATED: Fentanyl-laced tablets linked to 8 overdoses in Northern Colorado. They seized almost a pound and a half of suspected cocaine, a slightly larger amount of a substance believed to be meth, more than a quarter of a pound of suspected ketamine, 32 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, 60 tabs of LSD, 36 pills of Xanax and 53 Ritalin pills. 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If you want to plan the perfect spring picnic, food and drink are important, but its certainly not the only factor to consider. "The work of this team has potentially thwarted over 40,000 deaths in our community," 18th Judicial District Attorney John Kellner said. SALON is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark of Salon.com, LLC. Agents set up a wiretap on Romos phone and for months tracked his calls, setting up more wiretaps as they identified people who were also involved in drug and gun sales. The indictment does not mention the cartel, though it said Beltran received a call from a Mexican phone number and discussed drug dealing with the caller. Acting DEA Administrator Timothy Shea announced the bust at a press conference Wednesday. 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Well, and something that I found interesting about this reported podcast is that there are a lot of flashy details like, skydiving drug mules, buried bags of cash, partying, cocaine. The massive bust was a collaboration between Carroll County, New Hampshire and Maine. Arthur Mills, 59, was arrested on Thursday, according to the Denver Police Department. "This criminal enterprise was responsible for poisoning our community and furthering the opioid and methamphetamine epidemic, but today our community is safer," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Dean Phillips. Law enforcement connected the trafficking to seven residences spread across the metro area, including homes in east Denver, Commerce City and Thornton, according to the indictment. I approached the Colorado Department of Law. This is a part of the story that is told very differently depending on who you talk to. . The show covers some pretty dramatic SWAT raids that happened when the group was busted. There are some states that just don't have a legal market, so by definition, the only place where you can buy cannabis in those states is "the black market.". Posted: Feb 19, 2020 / 06:11 PM . But that's not to say that there isn't also a thriving black market in states that have legalized weed. SUGGESTED VIDEOS | Local stories from 9NEWS. RELATED: More than $60,000 in cocaine seized from Edwards mobile home. You were living in Colorado when the major drug bust happened, right? A Boogie wit da Hoodie (nee Artist Dubose) - Dec. 7; the Bronx, NY-born rapper was arrested at his home in Demarest, NJ and charged with possession of marijuana and several handguns; two other men were also charged; had a No. This spring, Le Creuset has introduced an exciting new shade thats already selling fast: shallot, a soft lavender with pink and slight gray undertones. Elise Schmelzer is the public safety reporter at The Denver Post and covers policing, crime and criminal justice. Kevin Durant moped. If there is a huge markup, the vast majority of buyers are still going to turn to the black market because they're just like, "No, I'm not willing to pay twice as much to get weed from a dispensary.". This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Candelaria Vallejo-Gallo, who lives in Aurora, was charged as a federal drug kingpin. Undercover agents set up two buys from one of Romos associates, Saul Ramon Rivera Beltran, and purchased heroin, fentanyl and meth, according to the indictment. DENVER Twenty-one people have been charged in Colorado for their alleged involvement in a drug trafficking ring linked to a Mexican cartel, according to law enforcement officials. Colorado communities and families have suffered greatly from the opioid epidemicand that impact is getting worse during this pandemic. Last year, 540 Coloradans died of fentanyl overdoses. Updated: 10:33 PM MST February 19, 2020 DENVER A woman who's accused of being the ringleader of a large drug ring operation in the Denver metro area has been charged as a kingpin, a. Fentanyl alone drove the increase in opioid deaths in 2020, according to the Colorado Health Institute. December 30, 2020. Has Denver seen its last snow of the season? Right, so the reality of the situation is that weed is still illegal at the federal level, and not all states have legal weed. I mean, I do some editorializing at the end of this show. If youre thinking of altering your workout routine, youre probably looking for new exercises and equipment to help you reach your fitness goals. "The operation resulted in the seizure of over 400 pounds of methamphetamine, more than 15,000 fentanyl pills, five pounds of heroin and over four pounds of cocaine," said U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn. You can listen to the first three episodes hereor listen in the player below. The 2020 rate of 25 deaths per 100,000 people is 39% higher than the rate recorded in 2019 and triple the rate from 2000. If youre thinking of altering your workout routine, youre probably looking for new exercises and equipment to help you reach your fitness goals. They figured out pretty much every person who was involved in it for a span of four years. So, all of which to say, federal legalization is a step towards combating some of these problems, but it's a long road ahead. Some of those details did come out in the initial media coverage and press conference around the bust in 2015. But once that happened, I was able to see a lot of evidence that existed around this case that I knew existed, but was sealed to me before which included about 100 hours of recorded interrogation tape with 20 tapes. The indictment comes as drug overdose death rates in Colorado have risen to a horrific high. Drug Enforcement Administration Denver Field Division, Photos from the DEA show thousands of fentanyl pills and several pounds of meth seized in the dismantling of a drug trafficking organization, Colorado law enforcement officials announce arrest of 64 in international drug trafficking ring, Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. PHOTO BY QUINCY SNOWDON/Sentinel Colorado. Police arrested the alleged drug dealers in Colorado, Arizona, and California. (CBS4) - The U.S. Department of Justice says a drug strike force dismantled a major drug dealing operation which was working in Denver and Aurora. Colorado law enforcement officials on Wednesday announced the indictment by the 18th Judicial District grand jury of 19 people on 20 felonies in connection to the multi-state drug trafficking ring. The Denver DEAs Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Strike Force led the investigation in partnership with Arvada police. "This criminal enterprise was responsible for poisoning our community and furthering the meth and opioid epidemic, but today our community is safer" said. Police seized fentanyl, meth, firearms, and more than $5,000. He confessed to police everything he knew about Nguyen's operation, overturning the largest pot smuggling drug ring in Colorado since legalization. Mills has gone before a judge and bond was set. After the indictment announcement, authorities said two others were arrested in connection to the drug trafficking ring. You can find more resources about fentanyl at www.denvergov.org. The charges were announced Friday by Colorado Attorney General Phil . So, the state's stayed tight-lipped about this for about four years, but I knew that I if I could ever get access to some of the operatives who were allegedly involved in this group, as well as get the law enforcement side, it would just be a fascinating insight into how black market groups operate. Authorities say there is no immediate threat to their safety. In the past 20 years. The DEA says this fentanyl bust is part of a national crisis. DENVER - Sixty-four people have been charged in Colorado for their alleged involvement in what officials called an international trafficking and money laundering ring that dealt with fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin and firearms, according to law enforcement officials. DENVER (KDVR) Police have announced a significant drug bust in Denver that turned up more than 200 pounds of drugs, including meth, cocaine, heroin, crack and thousands of fentanyl pills.. Please enter valid email address to continue. He was in the Denver County jail as of Friday night. The first batch of people were prosecuted by Weisers office and the 1st Judicial District Attorneys Office in Jefferson County, and two more series of indictments were filed in Adams County and are being prosecuted by the officers of Weiser and Mason. EAGLE, Colo. (CBS4) - Detectives pulled off a major drug bust in the Eagle Vail area, arresting Matthew DeAngelo at a home. Right. Agents said Colorado communities are safer now with the seized drugs and weapons off the streets, but the work is far from over. According to the indictments and other court documents, following an investigation that began in late 2018, agents seized approximately 400 pounds of methamphetamine, five pounds of heroin, four pounds of cocaine, and 15,000 fentanyl pills, which were disguised to look like prescription oxycodone.

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