Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Drug Trafficking

DEA Whistleblower Says Biden Era Operation Let Million Fentanyl Pills Hit Streets
Just The News, Approved, National

DEA Whistleblower Says Biden Era Operation Let Million Fentanyl Pills Hit Streets

By Katherine Pugh | Just the News The scandal, mirroring that of the 2009-2011 Operation Fast and Furious, was used to gain intel for cases against major drug traffickers in an effort to eventually save more lives. A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent has evidence that his agency and federal prosecutors let more than 1 million fentanyl pills flow onto the streets of New Mexico during the Biden era and then tried to silence him from testifying after he blew the whistle, the agent's lawyer tells Just the News. "DEA has a campaign that says one pill can kill, and so the DEA allowing this to happen was really significant. It was driven also by the US Attorney's Office in New Mexico," Attorney Tristan Leavitt, president of the Empower Oversight, whistleblower cent...
Colorado Teen’s Fatal Overdose Leads to Prison Time for Dealers and Boyfriend
CBS News, Approved, State

Colorado Teen’s Fatal Overdose Leads to Prison Time for Dealers and Boyfriend

By Logan Smith | CBS Colorado Three Colorado residents are currently serving prison sentences following a 16-year-old girl's drug overdose.  Kaleb Hale bought six pills from a man and woman in Greeley on July 24, 2021, according to court documents. He brought the pills to a friend's home where he and his girlfriend, identified in the court documents only as "J.H.," crushed one pill and snorted a portion of it.  "Once at that residence," federal prosecutors stated in another court document, "J.H. decided to try what would be her first, and last, dose of fentanyl." Hale, then 20 years old, awoke around noon the next day. He had defecated himself and "J.H." had vomited on him, according to the document. She was unconscious and not breathing. He tried to r...
DEA Chief Says Cartels View Colorado as Safe Haven for Drug Trafficking
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

DEA Chief Says Cartels View Colorado as Safe Haven for Drug Trafficking

By The Denver Gazette | Colorado politics Colorado’s “sanctuary” laws, notably its prohibition against cooperating with federal authorities, are having a “chilling effect” on law enforcement’s ability to go after drug cartels operating in the state, an official of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency said. That situation sits atop Colorado’s “pervasive drug culture stemming back to the marijuana initiation,” said David Olesky, the special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Rocky Mountain Field Division. That “drug culture” is sustained by how Colorado and its political subdivisions treat criminality, he said, adding he is not making a “political” statement — just describing the challenges his agents face on the ground. Of particular worry...
Feds Indict Two Suspected Tren de Aragua Leaders in Denver Racketeering Case
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Feds Indict Two Suspected Tren de Aragua Leaders in Denver Racketeering Case

By Nico Brambila | The Denver Gazette Denver and federal officials announced the indictment of two suspected Tren de Aragua (TdA) leaders in Denver on Thursday for racketeering that included robbery, extortion, kidnapping, money laundering and controlled substance abuse over a 14-month period in 2024. Indicted were Giovanni Vicente Mosquera Serrano and Brawins Dominique Suarez Villegas, aka “Chino San Vicente.” Gang members have been linked to a myriad of criminal activities that include human trafficking — specifically immigrant women and girls — drug trafficking, kidnapping, and money laundering. According to U.S. authorities, members of the Venezuelan prison gang hid in plain sight by infiltrating immigrants headed north. But the gang’s brutal reputation — ma...
Trump Escalates War On Cartels With Fentanyl WMD Designation
Daily Wire, Approved, National

Trump Escalates War On Cartels With Fentanyl WMD Designation

By Jennie Taer | Daily Wire President Donald Trump on Monday announced the classification of illicit fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, opening the door for the federal government to go even harder against the drug cartels. Trump signed the executive order, enhancing penalties for fentanyl traffickers and tasking the Department of War with countering the cartels producing the lethal narcotic. “No bomb does what this is doing. 200,000 to 300,000 people die every year that we know of, so we’re formally classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction,” Trump said while awarding troops with medals for securing the southern border on Monday. https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/2000666914654163022?s=20 READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT THE DAILY W...
Colorado Drug Bust Exposes Cartel Ties After 1,000 Pounds of Meth Seized
Just The News, Approved, State

Colorado Drug Bust Exposes Cartel Ties After 1,000 Pounds of Meth Seized

By Natalia Mittelstadt | Just the News Of those indicted, 11 have been arrested, while four others remain at large. Fifteen people have been indicted in Colorado after roughly 1,000 pounds of methamphetamine was seized following a two-year investigation into a drug trafficking organization from Mexico operating in the state, according to federal officials. Of those indicted, 11 have been arrested, but four others, including the organization’s alleged leader, are still free and believed to be in Mexico, according to the Colorado U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Associated Press reported. Drug Enforcement Administration special agent in charge Dave Olesky said in a Wednesday news conference that the investigation revealed ties “to elements in Mexico involving the Sinaloa and Ja...
DEA Seizure of 1.7 Million Fentanyl Pills Shocks Highlands Ranch Community
kdvr.com, Approved, Local

DEA Seizure of 1.7 Million Fentanyl Pills Shocks Highlands Ranch Community

By Heather Willard | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — A Highlands Ranch storage unit that was purchased during an auction turned into law enforcement’s largest seizure of fentanyl in Colorado history. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said that on Nov. 11, someone legally purchased a storage unit and when they opened it, found multiple items that appeared to be illegal. The purchaser contacted the sheriff’s office, and deputies and narcotics detectives quickly identified what the sheriff’s office described as a “massive quantity” of kilogram-sized packages and M-30 pills, which are counterfeit pills sold on the street containing fentanyl. After testing the pills, investigators confirmed they had seized: 198 kg of counterfeit fentanyl pills, which is about 1.7 million pills 1...
Cartels turn to China to wash billions in U.S. financial system
Just The News, Approved, National

Cartels turn to China to wash billions in U.S. financial system

By Brett Rowland | Just the News Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said banks flagged about $312 billion in transactions. Chinese networks are laundering billions of dollars in drug cartel cash through the U.S. financial system, according to a new report from the Treasury Department. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said banks flagged about $312 billion in transactions from suspected Chinese money laundering networks from January 2020 to December 2024. That came from 137,153 Bank Secrecy Act reports from financial institutions. Treasury also linked Chinese money laundering networks to U.S. real estate transactions, casinos, human trafficking and even laundering through assisted living homes in New York. The networks also use Chinese students studying i...
Matt Turner launches 2026 campaign for Weld County sheriff
Greeley Tribune, Approved, Local

Matt Turner launches 2026 campaign for Weld County sheriff

By Trevor Reid | Greeley Tribune Turner, a captain at the agency, has been with the sheriff’s office since 2012 Since 1987, there have only been three Weld County sheriffs: Ed Jordan, John Cooke and Steve Reams. In November 2026, Matt Turner hopes to add his name to that list. “We have a rich history in Weld County of building our sheriffs in the office,” Turner said. “Not seeing that person freaks me out. So I don’t want to say I feel like I have to do this, but I don’t see anybody else. And I want to make sure the sheriff’s office is taken care of.” Turner lists five primary things he plans to focus on if he is elected as the 40th sheriff of Weld County. First, he wants to attack what he believes is at the root of just about every crime: drugs. “All crime has a ...
Adams County man handed 13-year sentence for large-scale drug trafficking
Fox31, Approved, Local

Adams County man handed 13-year sentence for large-scale drug trafficking

By: FOX31 Digital Staff | FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — A man was sentenced to 20 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections by the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office for “large-scale” drug trafficking in Adams County, the DA’s Office announced in a press release on Monday morning. The man, Rodrick Maye, 45, was sentenced for possessing with intent to distribute large quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamines and cocaine. On May 25, 2024, Thornton police officers saw Maye swerve into oncoming traffic on East 88th Avenue. The officers performed a traffic stop, and said Maye showed signs of impairment and failed roadside sobriety tests, before being arrested for driving under the influence. During a search of the vehicle, officers found multiple open containers of alcohol an...

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