This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. On Feb. 28, the drug task force made up of officers from the Safford, Thatcher, and Pima Police departments, Graham County Sheriff's Office, and Arizona Department of Public Safety, raided the residence at about 6:45 a.m. by announcing their presence via a loudspeaker and breaching the front door using door rams and pry bars. So it was essentially meant to throw off anyone who might have seen that, Dunn said. Besser said the I-70 and I-25 corridors are where the deadly drugs head East while money heads South. The Denver house is located on Race Street where Mills was arrested. In February of 2016, the DEA Strike Force Group began investigating illegal drug trafficking activities of Jose Tapia-Rubio who lived in the 1200 block of E. Arizona Avenue in Aurora, according to the civil forfeiture documents. for top stories from 9NEWS curated daily just for you. Angelina Maestas posted court documents on Facebook that openly accused another member of the trafficking operation with cooperating with police. 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Powdered cocaine is abused throughout the greater metropolitan area, and crack cocaine is abused primarily in northeastern Denver and in Aurora, just outside Denver. So its often mixed with other substances, oftentimes inert substances, and then pressed into pill form to look like prescription oxycodone.. Police found more than $18,000 in cash and more than 300 pills during a traffic stop in west suburban Aurora Tuesday night. In the Denver-Aurora-Broomfield MSA, an annual average of 416,000 persons aged 12 or older used any . Authorities: Package in the mail containing THC oil leads to large drug Catherine Brooke Harrell, 28, was arrested for prostitution, felony possession of heroin and . For both Apple TV and Fire TV, search for "9NEWS" to find the free app to add to your account. AURORA, Ill. (WLS) -- Three men from Mexico and a Bolingbrook man face drug charges after Kane County Sheriff's detectives said they found nearly 160 pounds of cannabis in a Jeep in west. Since 2015, Besser said the drug landscape has shifted considerably, moving from organic heroin to synthetic pills, which are both more discreet and more lucrative for cartels. It has arrested 65 high-level defendants and confiscated 500,000 fake fentanyl pills, 360 pounds of meth, 104 pounds of cocaine and taken nearly 200 guns off the street that were tied to drug operations. He will miss this weekend's NASCAR race at Las Vegas. (WEHT) Five people were put behind bars in Evansville after a suspicious package led to a large drug bust. 64 people indicted in huge Colorado drug trafficking bust Four arrested following large-scale drug bust in Adams County Prosecutor: 79 indicted in Ohio drug bust, more than $5 million of In Mexican cities, the pills can be made for roughly 4 cents each. Authorities seized 400 pounds of methamphetamine, 15,000 fentanyl pills, 5 pounds of heroin and 4 pounds of cocaine during the sweeping arrests last week, Dunn said. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. The influx of fake prescription opioids is a growing and deadly concern for this office and the law enforcement community as a whole, he said. The DEA says his busts have kept 20 tons of illicit drugs off the streets . 2019 Sentinel Colorado. Nearly 160 pounds of marijuana found in Aurora drug bust; 4 men charged Ever., Seizure of 200,000 fentanyl pills declared one, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Get to know all 17 Denver mayor candidates , Seizure of 200,000 fentanyl pills declared one of largest ever in Colorado, Woman attempted 4 carjackings in 9 minutes, Denver police say. 4:00 PM 01/29/2013 - A 23-year-old math teacher at Overland High School in Aurora, Colorado is in a heap of trouble after a local television station publicized the bawdy but awesome contents of her Twitter account. Douglas. Alleged victims recount how they said David Zoda deceived them, collected thousands of dollars in moving charges, then allegedly dumped their belongings in storage lockers in Aurora. Private and rental vehicles and commercial trucks fre-quently are used to transport drugs into and through Colorado. Vallejo-Gallo was arrested at her home in Aurora on Wednesday last week and faces drug kingpin charges, Dunn said. Tapia-Rubio is named in the court records, among 13 other people. An Aurora woman led an extensive international drug trafficking organization that distributed high volumes of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and fentanyl throughout Colorado, U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn said at a news conference Wednesday. Law enforcement officials said cartels have designed the latest batches to be attractive to young people, with one official comparing their creativity to Baskin-Robbins ice cream flavors. Denver leaders including Mayor Michael Hancock and Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen spoke with journalists on Sunday afternoon after what police describe as a "suspicious occurrence" near Coors Field. In my opinion, bulk fentanyl quantities like this hold the caliber of weapons of mass destruction-type concern when we take into consideration the worst possible outcomes of this poison being pushed out in mass to our communities, said Brian Besser, the special agent in charge of the DEAs Denver Field Division. Aurora, IL crime, fire and public safety news and events, police & fire department updates Police in Arvada got quite a surprise while conducting a search warrant for narcotics distribution. ", RELATED: Denver Health Officials Warn About Increase In Deadly Overdoses Linked To Fentanyl. Wanted Collection FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation Most street users will not purposely want to take fentanyl some do, but for the most part they dont, because of how serious it is, how its so hard to dose because a microscopic amount can be fatal and theyre fearful of that, he said. Denver7 reporter Liz Gelardi tells us more about a drug ring hiding in plain sight. Our newsletters bring you a closer look at the stories that affect you and the music that inspires you. Fentanyl is being mixed with heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and illegally produced marijuana. More than 20 lbs of cocaine, other illicit drugs, guns and wads of cash were seized in Adams County earlier this week and resulted in four people being arrested, officials said. Ive got a news flash for you. Unsuspecting users taking drugs they dont know are laced with fentanyl have created a deadly phenomenon and burgeoning public health crisis in Colorado. Investigators intercepted several shipments of drugs, Phillips said. Illicit Drug Use. Ive never seen anything like this. The Lookout is a free, daily email newsletter with news and happenings from all over Colorado. The Colorado Avalanche have seen a lot of success as of late, and they are now clearly in the NHL's upper echelon. FBI identifies Aurora woman as suspected kingpin of Mexican drug ring busted in metro area U.S. Attorney photo Authorities seized 400 pounds of methamphetamine, 15,000 fentanyl pills, five pounds. For both Apple TV and Fire TV, search for "9NEWS" to find the free app to add to your account. Federal and local law enforcement agencies say the drugs come into the state from Mexico. It starts with a small case that can be built into something meaningful, Kellner said.

Drug bust in the Denver metro on Thursday. The Colorado State Patrol reported that it has seized 225 pounds of fentanyl through the first half of this year, compared to 150 pounds in 2021. Drug-related treatment admissions in Colorado are at relatively high levels. Seizure of 200,000 fentanyl pills declared one of largest ever in Colorado The Aurora Police Department received information about narcotics . Even fruit-flavored incarnations of the pill are being found, some being etched with the BMW or Mercedes logos, they said. Best 30 Drug Bust Counseling Center in Aurora, CO with Reviews According to DEA estimates, one kilo of pure fentanyl powder is enough to kill 500,000 people. Colorado Attorney General, DEA Task Force Dismantle Major Drug Jared Polis has endorsed the proposal to change the name of Mount Evans in a letter to the U.S. Board of Geographic Names. The find was part of a coordinated Aurora drug bust announced Feb. 19, 2020. 15) Deandre Hill, 41 years of age, of 138 Middle Road in Aurora. On the early morning of Thursday, Mar. Obviously with the nexus of I-25 and I-70, Colorado seems I think to have a disproportionate share of interstate drug trafficking that flows through our state, Dunn said. Colorado will be caught between a high pressure ridge to the east and a deep low pressure trough to the west. Local, state and federal law enforcement agencies engage in largest Its also very cheap to produce in either China or Mexico, Dunn said. The Aurora Police Department assisted in the seizure on Amherst Circle. Besser said investigators are now seeing fentanyl and other deadly synthetic analogs routinely being mixed with conventional street drugs, including cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and marijuana. Major drug bust on 6/1/21 in Rio Grande County, CO. (Center PD) CENTER, Colo. (KKTV) - Authorities uncovered what were believed to be "operating drug distribution centers" in a small Colorado . Police also found 20 firearms at the two locations. According. As the spring homebuying season approaches, affordability is at its lowest point in history, one economist said. AURORA |Federal authorities on Wednesday unsealed a 30-person indictment that outlines the workings of a sophisticated drug cartel that for years was pumping hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin and cocaine throughout Colorado. Fountain Police arrested a convicted felon for drugs in his car the same day he was sentenced for another crime. (KKTV) - A massive investigation resulted in 800 arrests, the seizures of more than eight tons of cocaine; 22 tons of marijuana; and 2 tons . It is in your neighborhood, it is saturated everywhere.. Federal and local law enforcement are executing warrants related to a drugdistributionbust in the Denver metro area Thursday morning. In 2015, it killed 64 people in the state. Phillips called the operation a sophisticated group with numerous international and interstate ties and said it has been operating in the Denver region for several years, trafficking high volumes of drugs on a weekly basis. "They have a bunch of Alprazolam (Xanax) and oxycodone in with other peoples names on, the thing wrapped up in money sock full of money," an officer can be heard saying on bodycam video. A 19-year-old Arizona man is under arrest in Colorado's high country after authorities found large amounts of drugs in his car. BEAUFORT COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) - Three people have been arrested in Beaufort County on drug charges and deputies say the street value of the drugs seized is . According to 18th Judicial District Attorney John Kellner, about 200,000 fentanyl pills were recovered during the investigation along with 9.4 lbs of heroin, 1 kilogram of cocaine, four guns and. However, groups like Vallejo-Gallos are increasingly manufacturing the potent opioid to bump their profit margins by camouflaging it as more sought-after and expensive prescription pills. PDF Colorado Drug Threat Assessment - United States Department of Justice A search of the vehicle yielded $18,645 USC, 254.81 grams cannabis, 231 pills of Alprazolam (Xanax), 108 pills of Oxycodone, 25 pills MDMA and a digital scale. Subscribe to ourdaily 9NEWSLETTERfor top stories from 9NEWS curated daily just for you. Body cam video shows a handcuffed suspect being thrown to ground by an Aurora police officer. $650K of drugs seized, three arrested in Beaufort County drug bust Five goals wasn't enough for the Avs to overcome a hot Devils offense. In 2020, drug overdose deaths were up 34% in Colorado. One of four suspects arrested at a hotel near Coors Field says there was no plot to shoot MLB All-Star Game fans, even though one of his friends harbored a large cache of weapons in his room. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network records show that between 2013 and 2016, Tapia-Rubio made 140 cash deposits totaling more than $3 million dollars to various financial institutions. 9Wants to Know saw members of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Aurora Police Department at two locations in Aurora, one was a home, the other a business, in the Mississippi and I-225 area. 32 suspects charged in 'multimillion-dollar Colorado marijuana scheme Kellner acknowledged that stopping this operation will only put a temporary pause on business. APD makes arrests following Social Media Drug Operation - KRQE Its crucially important to include a financial component in investigations of drug-related crimes, Amanda Prestegard, acting special agent in charge of IRS Criminal Investigations said. The illicit drug has been seen on state highways more than ever before. PDF Substance Use and Mental Disorders in the Denver-Aurora - SAMHSA