Last updated : December 23, 2024
A complex, two year investigation has led to the indictment of more than 50 dangerous gang members in the Denver metro area. In a bid to shut down two unrelated drug rings that were flooding the Denver area with illegal drugs, local and federal authorities dispatched hundreds of officers on June 6, 2014. Some of those named in the indictments were already in custody. Twenty-eight others were arrested while about a dozen others are still being sought by law enforcement.
In addition to taking nearly 30 people into custody, officers also seized around $40,000 in cash, two firearms and a few pounds of methamphetamine. These seizures are in addition to other confiscations made during the course of the investigation that included large amounts of cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and marijuana. Authorities have also seized various vehicles, firearms and cash during the course of the investigation, which began in the spring of 2012.
Both drug rings were closely tied to dangerous street gangs. The first was associated with the Gangster Disciples, a ruthless gang that originated in Chicago. Ricky Garrison, the gang’s leader, was named in the indictment and was already in custody. Garrison and other members and associates of Gangster Disciples were indicted on numerous charges, some of which are related to the drug running operation. Some defendants were also wanted on other, unrelated charges.
The other ring was run by the Gonzalez-Cepeva/Quintero criminal organization, which is associated with the violent 211 Crew street gang. Their close ties to Mexico made it easy for them to transport illegal substances to Colorado. Indictments involving members of this organization included drug trafficking, conspiracy to import drugs, cash smuggling and racketeering. Other charges involving the possession of firearms by illegal aliens and felons were also levied. Most of those connected to this organization were arrested, though a few are still at large.
The removal of these two powerful drug trafficking rings makes the streets of Denver safer, and makes Colorado more secure as a whole. These results were brought about by the cooperative efforts of about a dozen federal and state law enforcement agencies including the Denver Division of the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Immigration and Custom’s Homeland Security Investigations unit. City and county police participated as well. It is only through the concerted efforts of law enforcement agencies that such large drug trafficking rings can be destroyed.
