DENVER (KDVR) — Fifteen people were indicted by a federal grand jury, including the alleged leader of a drug trafficking organization, in what the United States Attorney for the District of Colorado is calling the largest meth seizure in Colorado history.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado said the indictment came after more than 1,000 pounds of methamphetamine linked to an unnamed organization were seized through the investigation, which included federal wiretaps, surveillance, undercover operations and enforcement.
This included 96 pounds of meth seized in December 2024 from a member of the organization on a Greyhound bus in Vail. In February, 101 pounds of methamphetamine and a half-kilogram of fentanyl powder were seized from another member on a Colorado highway. In April, more than 700 pounds of meth were seized from a Lakewood residence, along with equipment consistent with manufacturing or conversion. The attorney’s office said investigators also found thousands of packages of meth in the corners of fruit containers. In August, almost 50 pounds of meth were seized from an Arvada residence.
The defendents named in the indictment include: Marco Antonio De Silva Lara, Sergio Ivan Arce Lopez, Juan Luis Cabrera Saucedo, Luis Enrique Lopez Lopez, Rigoberto Aranda, Erik Alejandro Benitez Chavez, Robert Shane Gerstner, Joseph Ricardo Menzor, William Joseph Rollins, Brittney Pierce, Francisco Javier Armenta Barraza, Jamie Cash Hoover, Cesar Andres Huizar Guerra and Trenton Anthony Thompson…