COLORADO: A massive international drug and money laundering bust resulted in the seizure of 273 pounds of heroin with a street value of $40 million, Colorado and federal agents and prosecutors announced here th eother day.
“Heroin use in Colorado has reached epidemic proportions,” said Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman. “This bust deals a knockout punch to a highly-organized and invasive bunch of traffickers.”
Dubbed “Operation Chump Change” by investigators, the two-year operation was called “the most complex heroin bust in the history of the Rocky Mountain region” and resulted in dozens of federal and state indictments.
DEA agents began tracking a money-laundering operation in 2013 and the investigation led to a drug cartel that grew opium poppies and operated heroin laboratories in Mexico, and smuggled drugs into the Western United States.
Brown heroin was smuggled into Colorado in large quantities and sold on the 16th Street Mall and in City Park, said Rob Saccone, a DEA strike force agent. Brown heroin can be smoked or snorted, and was sold relatively cheap, in $10 and $20 packets.
The alleged leaders of the cartel, a father and son in Mexico, have been identified but not yet arrested, said U.S. Attorney John Walsh. Authorities are looking for the pair and Walsh expects they’ll be tracked down, arrested and extradited to Colorado to face multiple charges.
The investigation led to 54 state-level indictments and three federal indictments charging 34 suspects “with complex money laundering and violations of the drug king-pin statute,” officials said.
On May 14, 15 search warrants were served on suspected heroin traffickers across Colorado and 24 suspects were arrested. Additional search warrants were served and arrests made in Arizona, Nevada, Utah and California.
The coordinated effort illustrates that law enforcement and judicial officials “will not sit back and let hard drugs overtake our state,” said Coffman.
“This case represents the gold standard for federal-state law enforcement cooperation to attack and dismantle a dangerous international narco-trafficking organization,” Walsh added.
Officials dubbed the investigation “Chump Change” because some early seizures and arrests, involving amounts in the $100,000 range, seemingly failed to slow the operation.
The operation also netted:
- 31 pounds of methamphetamine valued at $500,000.
- 25 pounds of cocaine valued at $1 million.
- 25 vehicles worth about $300,000.
- $2.3 million in cash.
The Denver DEA Strike Force, IRS agents, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Colorado Attorney General’s Office, and other federal, state and local authorities took part in the complex investigation. More than 100 officers were involved in the final takedown.
