denver drug bust 2020

Fentanyl has been found mixed with or in place of oxycodone tablets, cocaine, and heroin in the Denver area, according to DDPHE. Law enforcement would certainly tell this story one way. The pills were disguised to look like prescription oxycodone. I think the first and most immediate one, or the most obvious one, is just this question of federal legalization. The indictment outlines the extensive investigation by a coalition of Denver-area agencies working with the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area into the trafficking ring. 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So, the law enforcement side, that's easier to answer. 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 charge rarely sought, federal authorities announced Wednesday afternoon. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. How much of that was present in the initial media coverage surrounding "The Syndicate" drug bust? By holding accountable the high-level organizers of this criminal enterprise and halting the spread of dangerous drugs, we can help save lives in Colorado. "This criminal enterprise was responsible for poisoning our community and furthering the meth and opioid epidemic, but today our community is safer" said. 11 people now facing charges after months-long investigation involving police in Winnipeg, B.C. All are facing numerous charges for possession and distribution of illegal drugs, including methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and fentanyl. So, all of which to say, federal legalization is a step towards combating some of these problems, but it's a long road ahead. Cash, guns and several vehicles were also seized, according to Phillips. In 2018, an average of nine Coloradans a month died of illicit fentanyl overdose. Between 2016 and 2020, the number of fentanyl deaths has increased tenfold. A Boogie wit da Hoodie's mug shot. Officials on Wednesday said they linked the drugs to the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico but didnt offer details on how they made the connection. Then on the law enforcement side, it's like, "Oh, well, this is absolutely justified because these people are so dangerous.". In addition to the drugs and weapons that were recovered, the investigation also dug up an alleged money laundering operating that sent money back and forth to Mexico from Adams County, Colorado Springs and the Denver area. When it started, they had about ten requests for supplies a month. That includes carrying naloxone with you. Agents identified Beltran as the leader of the group. And then in conjunction with what I was saying earlier, too, they could establish their warehouse right next to the hundreds of legitimate ones that are spread throughout the city. Candelaria Vallejo-Gallo, who is in the U.S. illegally, was arrested at her home in Aurora last week and charged with operating a continuing criminal enterprise (CCE), also known as drug kingpin charge. . Because the state of Colorado is just as savvy as anyone else about garnering media attention, they knew that they could probably get more coverage of their investigation if they talked about the fact like "Oh, by the way, they were also shipping up to 900 pounds of per trip on these skydiving planes.". Vallejo-Gallo is a Mexican national in the country unlawfully, who has been charged with operating a continuing criminal enterprise which is also known as a drug kingpin charge. two thirds of Americans favor recreational pot and around 80% favor medical marijuana. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. Published August 18, 2020 6:00PM (EDT) The Syndicate (Photos provided by publicist/Salon) Facebook Twitter Email save In October 2014, SWAT team officers and DEA agents kicked down the doors of. / CBS Colorado. One of the questions that is raised in "The Syndicate" is about how the medical marijuana system can be gamed, like it was by thealleged ringleaderTri Nguyen. Well and you address this in the podcast but what is the reality like for someone who is growing illegally who wants to start growing legally? 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(CBS4) - The North Metro Task Force made a large drug bust at an auto body shop in Commerce City. Would we have as much black market activity, and would a group like this have been able to pull off the feat they did, if we had just across-the-country legal cannabis? That's a whole other set of issues. Under the caregiving program, they could grow up to 500 plants. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Four hundred pounds of meth, five pounds of heroin, four pounds of cocaine, and 15,000 fentanyl pills were seized as part of the investigation. On the drug smuggler side, it was a horrific experience, having a SWAT team bust through your windows and explode flash bangs in your home and terrorize your family. Authorities arrested five people in connection with an alleged . The find was part of a coordinated Aurora drug bust announced Feb. 19, 2020. In Denver, the Denver Department of Health reported "the percentage change in drug-related deaths for the six months of January-June from 2019 to 2020 was 83%, with fentanyl-related overdose deaths experiencing a 354% increase in those same timeframes." "The influx of fake prescription opioids is a growing and deadly concern for this office. In a news release, DDPHE said from 2020 to 2021, fentanyl-involved deaths have increased by 41%, from 159 to 222. Most of the arrests were made last week following a law enforcement operation that began in late 2018. The fentanyl is believed to have been manufactured south of the U.S. border, and smuggled into the U.S. and eventually brought to Colorado. Forty-two percent of illicit fentanyl pills tested by the DEA nationwide contained at least 2 mg of fentanyl, considered a potentially lethal dose. Of the 30 indicted,24 were arrested and one is in state custody on a separate charge. At that time, there were 32 court cases that came out of this, and the state of Colorado wanted to make sure that it could successfully prosecute each of those cases without additional media coverage marring their legal cases. But there were limitations. They figured out pretty much every person who was involved in it for a span of four years. Colorado communities and families have suffered greatly from the opioid epidemicand that impact is getting worse during this pandemic. But even if you were to do that, then this is returning the conversation again to states like California and, to some extent, Colorado. Project Corredor began in Autumn 2019, Belanger said, and culminated when search warrants were carried out beginning in early 2020. On that note, you mentioned that you knew early on that you wanted to speak with people on both sides you know, growing and distributing, and then on the law enforcement side. Police arrested the alleged drug dealers in Colorado, Arizona, and California. You'd have to be continually hiding that from, you know, even like your local garbage collector. So I approached the state and say, "Hey, I can tell you spent a lot of resources and time on this investigation, and I want to help you spotlight the work that you did, and also find out what this says about the black market.". 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.". They said that several ringleaders of the organization were indicted on violations of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act and the Colorado Controlled Substances Act. 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. And it was just shocking the size and scale of this black market operation. At a news conference on Wednesday, the District Attorney's Office for the 18th Judicial District announced the grand jury indictments of 19 people in connection with a drug-distribution ring. So, in Denver, there are over 600 cannabis cultivation facilities. February 19, 2020 / 10:59 PM Has Denver seen its last snow of the season? Of the 30 defendants indicted, 24 have been arrested and one is in state custody on a separate charge. They also found four firearms, two of them stolen. Mills was arrested at the Race Street location. 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. "We really do this for a lot of reasons. More than $60,000 in cocaine seized from Edwards mobile home, Fentanyl-laced tablets linked to 8 overdoses in Northern Colorado, Activity must be a felony under federal drug laws, Activity must take place as a continuing series of violation, Must undertake the activity with five or more people, Defendant must as a supervisor or organizer or manager of the criminal enterprise, Must obtain substantial income or financial gain. Between 2019 and 2020, the number of overdose deaths in Colorado involving fentanyl more than doubled, from 222 to 540. The other people indicted face charges ranging from conspiracy to distribute drugs, possession with intent to distribute and money laundering. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. (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. SUGGESTED VIDEOS | Local stories from 9NEWS. However, the drug ring's alleged leader -- Rivera-Beltran -- is being held in Arapahoe County on a $1M cash-only bond. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Photo by Tony Caldwell / Postmedia . 1,143 grams of cocaine 2,931 grams of synthetic cannabis 1 litre of Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) $60,010 cash Eight people have been charged and more than a quarter million dollars in drugs and cash. For me as a journalist that specializes in narrative stories, I feel like some of those details are necessary if you're really going to delve into a lot of policy angles and bigger picture questions about the law and justice in the United States. The police investigation into Mills led police to search two homes, one in the 3000 block of North Race Street and another in the 12100 block of Amherst Circle in Aurora. by: Deborah Takahara. "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. At a news conference on Wednesday, the District Attorney's Office for the 18th Judicial District announced the grand jury indictments of 19 people in connection with a drug-distribution ring crossing several counties -- including Arapahoe, Douglas, Denver and Jefferson counties. They were using skydiving planes to ship pot out of state. DENVER (CBS4) - The Drug Enforcement Administration announced a "major investigation" involving the seizure of 110,000 fentanyl-laced pills in the Denver metro area. of methamphetamine, 4 lbs. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The answer is probably no. March 11, 2022 / 2:51 PM Woman charged as federal 'kingpin' in major metro Denver-wide drug bust by: . Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4)- Police in Colorado Springs made a big drug bust in Fountain thanks to the help of K9 officer Sugar. 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 . June 17, 2020 at 5:33 p.m. Officials with the Northern Colorado Drug Task Force arrested six people and seized methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, psilocybin mushrooms, pot, counterfeit . DENVER (KDVR) Law enforcement announced Wednesday the results of a very significant operation that resulted in the arrest and charging of more than two dozen members of a major Mexican drug trafficking operation based in Denver. Whenever we take drugs off of our streets, we make our community a safer place in which to live, Mason said in a statement. Candelaria Vallejo-Gallo, who lives in Aurora, was charged as a federal drug kingpin. You can listen to the first three episodes hereor listen in the player below. In Denver alone, there were 350 drug overdose deaths between Jan. 1, 2020, and Nov. 30, said Deanne Reuter, special agent in charge with the DEA, at the news conference. So, let's start from the standpoint of someone trying to start a large, illegal marijuana grow. I think there's this misconception that in an era of increased marijuana legalization that there's less "need" for a black market, or that smuggling is on the decline but what is the reality of the situation? This organization was preparing for a battle, Olesky said. Weiser, Mason and Reuter lauded the local, state and federal partnership that they said was key to bringing down the organization and helping curb the ongoing increase in fentanyl trafficking and overdose deaths, which have risen sharply in the past few years in Colorado. This impressive collaboration between law enforcement agencies is a true success story for making our entire community safer.. The state of Colorado expanded the program in 2008 and quickly registered so many caregivers that the state couldn't really monitor what each and every one of them was going. 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This has happened in Canada, for instance, where there are jurisdictions with just no pot shops, so everyone in that jurisdiction who wants to buy weed has to get it from a black market dealer, right? (CBC) In a news release, Toronto police describe a. ", RELATED: Fentanyl-laced tablets linked to 8 overdoses in Northern Colorado. So there are well-established markets in both states that have legal cannabis and in states that don't. More Videos December 2, 2021 / 10:11 AM 2020 / 06:11 PM MST. It was a fairly impressive investigation. Dunn also noted that most of the seized fentanyl pills were disguised to look like oxycodone. The charges were announced Friday by Colorado Attorney General Phil . If youre thinking of altering your workout routine, youre probably looking for new exercises and equipment to help you reach your fitness goals. "With 28 firearms seized, multiple hand grenades, high-capacity magazines and several sets of body armor, this organization was preparing for battle," Olesky said during Wednesday's news conference. Are other banks to follow? WESTMINSTER, Colo. (CBS4) - The North Metro Drug Task Force arrested two men for allegedly selling drugs from a home after receiving more than 100 complaints. 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.
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