Colorado sees increase in fentanyl seizures amid cartel expansion
Fentanyl seizures in Colorado are increasing as cartels expand their reach, reported by DEA officials. In 2023, the DEA’s Rocky Mountain Field Division set a new record with over 2.6 million fentanyl pills seized in Colorado. The trend is expected to continue in 2024. The DEA noted a shift in distribution patterns, with Denver now facing quantities once seen in Phoenix and Los Angeles. The surge in fentanyl seizures in Colorado, attributed to cartel expansion, has been highlighted by DEA authorities. A record-breaking seizure of over 2.6 million fentanyl pills in Colorado by the DEA’s Rocky Mountain Field Division occurred in 2023. This escalating trend is anticipated to persist into 2024, with Denver experiencing quantities akin to those in Phoenix and Los Angeles.
Seizures of fentanyl in Colorado are on the rise as cartels expand their territory and spread into new areas, Drug Enforcement Administration officials said.
In 2023, the Rocky Mountain Field Division of the DEA saw a new record reached in the total amount of fentanyl seized after agents captured over 2.6 million pills in Colorado, according to a report citing Dave Olesky, acting special agent in charge of the Rocky Mountain Field Division and DEA spokesman.
That record is likely to break in 2024, he added.
“Quantities of fentanyl that we are seeing now in the Denver area, they used to be, two years ago, typically what you might see in one of the distribution cities down in Phoenix, Los Angeles. But nowadays, those cities are seeing exponential increases in terms of the number of and quantities of fentanyl being seized,” Olesky said.
Capturing 100,000-quantity seizures is now “sadly becoming the norm” in the Denver area, according to Olesky.
This new “norm” arrives as Democratic Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and the city council continue to push a $41 million budget reduction policy that would slash police and fire department funding to cover the costs of the migrant crisis.
Along with Colorado, the Rocky Mountain Field Division is seeing more signs of cartel crime in Montana, Utah, and Wyoming, the report noted.
“We have also seen local street gangs that might be more common in Detroit and the East Coast actually coming into the state of Montana to compete for that territory because the price per pill is so much higher up there,” Olesky said.
Fentanyl is extremely dangerous on the street, and seven out of 10 of the cheap illicit pills are now carrying a fatal dose of the drug, according to the DEA.
“The Mexican drug trafficking organizations are able to produce this as simply as whether it’s a super lab or a garage in Mexico,” Olesky said.
Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell of Colorado feels the border crisis under President Joe Biden is adding to the surge of fentanyl in the state.
“Why do we see such a huge rise in Colorado with fentanyl? We are 10 hours from El Paso,” Mikesell said. “They are coming here as a place that’s supposedly going to house them.”
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Olesky does not completely share that sentiment.
“Certainly, there is a border piece to this, but then there’s also got to be the outreach piece, the education piece,” he said.
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