Federal officials say they’ve dismantled a massive drug pipeline running from Mexico into Colorado, announcing what they called the largest methamphetamine seizure in the state’s history. The two-year investigation uncovered ties between Denver-area suppliers and both the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels—organizations the United States designated as foreign terrorist groups earlier this year. More than 1,000 pounds of meth were seized.
At the same time, U.S. Coast Guard crews delivered one of the largest drug offloads ever recorded, unloading more than 49,000 pounds of cocaine from a single patrol at Port Everglades. Officials say the Coast Guard has seized more cocaine this fiscal year than in any other on record, part of a broader effort to apply pressure across global trafficking routes.
Federal authorities in Colorado say they've shut down a cartel-linked drug operation that moved
massive quantities of drugs into the state, seizing more than 1,000 pounds of methamphetamine.
Meanwhile, the Coast Guard says it's made its largest single patrol bust in history.
Here's more on the federal government's latest actions targeting drug smuggling.
Federal officials yesterday announced they've taken down a major drug pipeline running from
An operation they say moved huge quantities of methamphetamine into the state for years.
This successful investigation boasts the largest methamphetamine seizure in Colorado history
and took more than 1,000 pounds of methamphetamine off of the streets before it could be distributed
into our community. Officials say the two-year investigation uncovered ties between local
networks in Denver and cartel networks in Mexico. The investigation had ties to other DEA
investigations domestically, but also to elements in Mexico involving both the Sinaloa and Jalisco
cartels, both of which were designated as foreign terrorist organizations earlier this year.
Federal authorities say the case led to 15 indictments. According to the affidavit,
most of the drugs were hidden inside boxes of imported produce. Officials say they believe
that four alleged members of the ring, including its suspected leader, remain free in Mexico.
The rest now face federal charges that could lead to decades behind bars.
And while Colorado investigators were dismantling a land-based pipeline,
the U.S. Coast Guard says its crews at sea just delivered one of the biggest drug offloads in
American history, a blow aimed directly at the maritime routes cartels rely on.
The Coast Guard said yesterday one of its ships offloaded more than 49,000 pounds of cocaine at
Port Everglades, calling the largest cocaine seizure ever recorded in a single patrol.
This fiscal year alone, the Coast Guard says it has seized over 230,000 kilograms of cocaine,
or nearly 510,000 pounds, the highest on record.
DEA leadership told CBS the massive offload shows the pressure being put on global trafficking routes.
We'll continue to keep immense pressure on every trafficking route. We're going to apply
every single tool to stop the narcotics of coming into the United States and killing American
citizens. According to federal officials, the combined operations on land and at sea
deny cartels more than half a billion dollars in revenue. And they say there's probably more
to come.
