United States Drug Enforcement Administration

Brighton, CO — Today, the DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division joined Colorado's 17th Judicial District Attorney Brian Mason, the Drug Trafficking Unit of the Adams County DA's Office, and the North Metro Task Force to announce grand jury indictments against nine people accused of funneling fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine into Adams County.   

The 6-month investigation uncovered direct ties between the Sinaloa Cartel and the greater Adams County area and identified an entire distribution network of co-conspirators that connected Mexico to Colorado, Oregon, Nevada and Arizona. 

"The DEA is relentlessly focused on disrupting these criminal networks and their supply chain. This includes everyone from the suppliers of precursor chemicals to the manufacturers in Mexico mixing and pressing fentanyl to the couriers and distributors here at home," said DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division Assistant Special Agent in Charge James Stroop. "The Sinaloa cartel has tapped into resources within our community to drive substance use and profit off of devastation and death. The results of this case are a true indication of DEA's commitment to making Colorado a safe and healthy place to live, work, and prosper." 

An Adams County Grand Jury indicted nine members of the Sanudo-Rivera Drug Trafficking Organization who allegedly acted as a direct cartel pipeline for the distribution of fentanyl into the greater Adams County area. The 47-count indictment was signed on September 25, 2023. 

In addition to the indictment, a number of seizures occurred as a result of this operation. 

• 84.3 pounds of fentanyl pills 
• 66 pounds of methamphetamine
• 1.4 kilos of cocaine
• 14g of heroin
• 1 active methamphetamine lab
• 5 guns
• $93,000

"I created an experienced Drug Trafficking Unit in the District Attorney's Office to take down large-scale drug dealers and break pipelines that feed into our local communities and destroy lives in the process," said District Attorney Brian Mason. "The joint efforts of the District Attorney's Office, the North Metro Task Force, and the DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division in this investigation truly shows our commitment to dismantling these troublesome and deadly operations. I'm proud of the work of my staff and our partners, and it is encouraging to see it come to fruition through this expansive indictment; however, the work continues, and this is just one step in the process of ridding our communities of these Mexican drug cartels that do our residents a great deal of harm."

The amount of fentanyl announced today equates to over 290,000 lives potentially saved, which is more than half of the population of Adams County. 

“The Detectives and Investigators at North Metro Task Force are deeply driven to dismantle Drug Trafficking Organizations. Especially those criminal organizations whom traffic in Fentanyl," said Commander John Bitterman of The North Metro Task Force.  "Thanks in part to our partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration our officers intercepted well over 300,000 dosage units of Fentanyl. Our Investigators worked tirelessly on this case, to prevent this number of narcotics from reaching the streets of Adams and Broomfield Counties. I couldn’t be prouder of the work accomplished by the men and women who worked on this case.”  

The filing of a criminal charge is merely a formal accusation that an individual committed a crime under Colorado laws.  A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.