DEA agents began the investigation in April by focusing on a single person, Samuel Padilla Romo. ------------------------------------------. In a news release, DDPHE said from 2020 to 2021, fentanyl-involved deaths have increased by 41%, from 159 to 222. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. While conducting a series of arrests across Denver and Aurora Feb. 12 . What did it look like when you were trying to gain access to some of these people? Law enforcement identified the shop as Supreme Auto Body which was not. Then approaching alleged members of this group was a whole other path that I had to go down. You can try to do it outside, but that's seriously exposed and easy to see from the air. Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. So, let's start from the standpoint of someone trying to start a large, illegal marijuana grow. The following criteria must be met to charge someone as a kingpin, according to Dunn: "It's a very rare occurrence, a very serious occurrence and not a charge we take lightly," said Dunn. Woman charged as federal 'kingpin' in major metro Denver-wide drug bust by: . It's not as simple as walking down to the county clerk and getting a permit. 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. "We really do this for a lot of reasons. Polls show that two thirds of Americans favor recreational pot and around 80% favor medical marijuana. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. The drug ring was in operation as early as July 2015. On May 9, several law enforcement agencies collaborated to arrest 25 individuals for drug trafficking and to issue charges to 12 others in a huge methamphetamine drug bust. Candelaria Vallejo-Gallo, who lives in Aurora, was charged as a federal drug kingpin. DENVER (CBS4) - The Drug Enforcement Administration announced a "major investigation" involving the seizure of 110,000 fentanyl-laced pills in the Denver metro area. 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." This spring, Le Creuset has introduced an exciting new shade thats already selling fast: shallot, a soft lavender with pink and slight gray undertones. 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?". The pills were disguised to look like prescription oxycodone. They figured out pretty much every person who was involved in it for a span of four years. This impressive collaboration between law enforcement agencies is a true success story for making our entire community safer.. Are other banks to follow? It sounds like a movie. Keeler: Avs fans, could we please skip Valeri Nichushkin, Nazem Kadri revisionist history? By Shelly Bradbury. (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. "Without a doubt, our law enforcement here today have saved the lives of Coloradans," Weis said. Using that statistic, Colorado law enforcement estimated the 110,000 pills they seized couldve contained more than 46,000 lethal pills. U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn, at the lectern, speaks with reporters Feb. 19, 2020 providing details of a massive drug bust involving Aurora suspects. Peel saw 191 fatal drug overdoses in 2021 -- up from. Drug kingpins dont always touch the drugs but they do always touch the money.. 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The investigation began in late 2018. Law enforcement would certainly tell this story one way. The show covers some pretty dramatic SWAT raids that happened when the group was busted. Noun 1. drug bust - seizure of illegal drugs by the police drugs bust impounding, impoundment, internment, poundage - placing private property in the. You were living in Colorado when the major drug bust happened, right? 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. 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Between 2019 and 2020, the number of overdose deaths in Colorado involving fentanyl more than doubled, from 222 to 540. So, all of which to say, federal legalization is a step towards combating some of these problems, but it's a long road ahead. 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 just in the city of Denver alone. Authorities seize drugs, 17 guns and $44,000 cash in Larimer County drug ring bust. There's a lot of considerations that need to be carefully weighed to make sure we can slowly chip away at the black market. 35 arrested after multiple drug busts across Maine, New Hampshire border. The unforgiving cycle of methamphetamine and opioid addiction is causing catastrophic damage to American families. It was a collection of all these college friends and their family members that came from Minnesota to Colorado to hide undercover in the legal market. Agents identified Beltran as the leader of the group. This is a part of the story that is told very differently depending on who you talk to. 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. With a big bust like this one, there are almost always an array of charges involved. (CBC) In a news release, Toronto police describe a. 2020 / 07:49 PM MDT. "Overdoses caused by fentanyl can happen faster and are harder to stop than those caused by other opioids," DDPHE said. Drug Enforcement Administration agents seized more than 2,200 pounds of methamphetamine earlier this month . September 3, 2021 / 3:46 PM Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. In 2015, Joe was caught with $374,000, a gun, and 66 pounds of marijuana. It was all about greed and making money, said David Olesky, acting special agent in charge of the Denver Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The influx of fake prescription opioids is growing and deadly concern for this office and law enforcement community as a whole. Federal indictments that were unsealed Wednesday name 30 defendants at least 24 have been arrested for their roles in two separate drug organizations that were involved in weekly high volume narcotics trafficking, according to Phillips. 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Opioids including fentanyl, heroin and prescription drugs caused two-thirds of all Colorado overdose deaths in 2020. I think the first and most immediate one, or the most obvious one, is just this question of federal legalization. Three people have been charged following a major bust at two residences in West Nipissing in which police seized illegal drugs with a street value of more than $8 million. April 28, 2020 / 11:48 AM / CBS Colorado COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4) - Police in Colorado Springs made a big drug bust in Fountain thanks to the help of K9 officer Sugar. Whenever we take drugs off of our streets, we make our community a safer place in which to live, Mason said in a statement. 64 people indicted after bust of international drug trafficking ring in Colorado Sixty pounds of heroin, 77,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl and $931,000 was seized. In 2021, the monthly average is 64 or two a day. But there were limitations. When it started, they had about ten requests for supplies a month. It's an FDA-approved medicine to rapidly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. April 28, 2020 / 11:48 AM Denver residents can also get that medicine, along with fentanyl test strips, sent to them for free from the city. Cash, guns and several vehicles were also seized, according to Phillips. This effort is an excellent example of what we accomplish through ongoing collaboration in our state.. DENVER (CBS4)- Denver public health officials are warning residents about a recent increase in deadly overdoses, specifically those linked to fentanyl, and a quickly changing drug supply. 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. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Four suspects are in Mexico and one is at large in the U.S., according to federal authorities. Had these pills reached the streets, thousands of unwitting end users wouldve been at significant risk of overdose and death as weve seen too much of already in Colorado, Dunn said. 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. Drug bust - definition of drug bust by The Free Dictionary Requests spiked to 1,200 after investigators said fentanyl likely caused the deaths of five people in Commerce City. RELATED: More than $60,000 in cocaine seized from Edwards mobile home. Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, Chinese electric vehicle brands expand to global, Qantas names chief financial officer Vanessa Hudson, These are the last days to access free COVID tests, No-knock warrant restrictions advance in Colorado, AP source: Broncos pick up Jeudys fifth-year option, Cron powers Rockies to 12-4 win over Diamondbacks, Former Broncos players daughter drowns in pool, Avs forward Cogliano fractured neck in Game 6, Le Creuset just launched a dreamy new color for spring, Our fitness expert weighs in on this years top spring, Picnic-planning ideas for the spring season, Bill to extend Medicaid coverage heads to Polis, Floods reported along I-70 near Hanging Lake exit. Officialssays 30 people were indicted including the so-called drug kingpin who ran the operation. 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. More Videos Milinovich said as of July 31, Peel Region has seen 71 overdose-related deaths, 80 per cent of which are suspected to be linked to opioids. But even if you were to do that, then this is returning the conversation again to states like California and, to some extent, Colorado. They'd covered the bust, but they were on to other things. Authorities and public health institutions point to the proliferation of illicit fentanyl an extremely potent synthetic opioid often disguised as prescription pills as a major contributor to the increased deaths in Colorado. Here's an example. Devin Booker sulked. He was in the Denver County jail as of Friday night. Tell me a little bit about how you became acquainted with the story that's presented in "The Syndicate." In response to this data, DDPHE urged caution around drugs bought from any source other than a pharmacy, as those drugs could contain fentanyl and vary greatly in strength and contents. Kevin Durant moped. Kiszla: Avs embarrass themselves with silence about Valeri Nichushkin's mysterious absence following reported 9-1-1 call. Four of those charges related to a drug felony in a public park. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. They also took out paraphernalia consistent with illegal narcotic sales, a sawed-off shotgun and $9,434 in cash. of methamphetamine, 4 lbs. Authorities say they seized about 400 lbs. I mean, it thoroughly dismantled this group. So there are well-established markets in both states that have legal cannabis and in states that don't. . "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. They also found four firearms, two of them stolen. You still need to make sure that consumers can find weed in conveniently available locations. 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.". 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.". 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. 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. Associated Press articles: Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. Pretty much every other reporter in Denver had moved on from the story. 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. 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. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. / CBS Colorado, UPDATE: Aurora Woman Who Was 'Kingpin' Of Drug Running Operation Sentenced To Prison. "This investigation is not about the amount of drugs seized or number of people arrested," said Olesky. 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. I cannot overstate how dangerous that was to the community. October 9, 2022 at 11:49 a.m. If convicted of being a kingpin, Vallejo-Gallo faces at least 20 years and potentially life in prison. Those in custody are being held on a $500,000 bond or greater. Oct. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. The massive bust was a collaboration between Carroll County, New Hampshire and Maine. Yeah, it's tough because I feel like in these situations, the truth always lies somewhere in between, right? 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. First and foremost is we don't want people to die preventable deaths. In 2018, an average of nine Coloradans a month died of illicit fentanyl overdose. They then used a confidential source to place recorded calls with Romo and set up a controlled purchase of $1,600 of methamphetamine. Officials say Candelaria Vallejo-Gallo is from Mexico and was in the country illegally. 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. DPS says it has plenty of mental health professionals after school board directive to add more, Wyoming won't give wolves to Colorado; CPW doesn't know where it will get them, Isolated storms Tuesday; 70s here to stay. Right, so in 2015 when this group was busted, or at least a grand jury indictment was handed down,I was working as a staff writer for the second largest newspaper in Denver, which is actually an alternative weekly. 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.. 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. The answer is probably no. . If youre thinking of altering your workout routine, youre probably looking for new exercises and equipment to help you reach your fitness goals. 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? So they got plenty of attention at the time, there was a big press conference at the Colorado Attorney General's office, and every outlet in Denver and many around the country, as well, covered this story. However, the drug ring's alleged leader -- Rivera-Beltran -- is being held in Arapahoe County on a $1M cash-only bond. Defendants face charges including racketeering, distribution of controlled substances and money laundering. 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. 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. Officials on Wednesday said they linked the drugs to the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico but didnt offer details on how they made the connection. All rights reserved. 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? 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. 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. I mean, how did you balance wanting to spotlight the work law enforcement did, while also giving voice to people on the other side of this bust all without feeling like either side was playing you? The Denver Police Department will continue to arrest those who prey on those who suffer from addiction, Chief Paul M. Pazen said in a news release. All are facing numerous charges for possession and distribution of illegal drugs, including methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and fentanyl. 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. Under the caregiving program, they could grow up to 500 plants. 23 hit with "Numbers" in 2020. So, the law enforcement side, that's easier to answer. You can find more resources about fentanyl at www.denvergov.org.
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