The Drug Enforcement Administration, along with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, showed off 1.7 million counterfeit fentanyl pills, 12 kilograms of fentanyl powder, and more than two pounds of methamphetamines on Monday. Agents said they seized the pills from a storage unit in Castle Rock after the drugs were discovered inside.
According to investigators, this is the largest single fentanyl seizure in Colorado and the sixth-largest in the country. They also said fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45.
Investigators said the seizure represents thousands of lives saved.
“It is also indicative that the Mexican cartels continue to traffic significant quantities of fentanyl to Colorado, and the seizure has been tied to active DEA investigations involving federal, state, and local partners, touching six different states, as well as Mexico, targeting the Sinaloa Cartel,” said DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division Special Agent in Charge David Olesky.
Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly said deputies were called to a storage facility in Highlands Ranch on Nov. 11. Investigators said that someone had legally purchased the storage unit contents through auction, realized there were drugs inside when they inspected the unit and immediately called authorities. Deputies secured the area and noticed a huge number of M30 pills, which are often counterfeit and often contain fentanyl.
“Because of his actions, we were able to remove a significant amount of dangerous narcotics out of circulation, drugs that could have easily made it to our streets and to our communities. To be clear, this reporting party undoubtedly saved countless lives, not only in Douglas County but throughout Colorado and likely throughout our nation,” said Weekly.
Agents said the suspect had been in custody since April on an unrelated case and has ties to the Sinaloa Cartel.
“We now know that the storage locker belonged to a drug courier linked to this organization. Once the courier was arrested, the storage unit bill went unpaid. CBI agents conducted search warrants and identified suspects in connection with this drug trafficking ring. The sheer volume of drugs found in this storage locker indicates a very sophisticated operation, likely producing millions more pills,” said CBI Director Armando Saldate.
Investigators said they were not releasing the suspect’s identity so as not to compromise any of the ongoing investigations.
