DEA: Cocaine Smugglers Used Secret Compartments Inside Cars
DENVER (CBS4) - A task force says it has shut down a major cocaine trafficking operation running from California to Colorado.
Federal, state and local agencies worked together to target the men smuggling the drugs and seized about 55 pounds of cocaine, which has a street value of about $750,000.
Members of the Denver Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force said in a news conference Thursday that they dismantled the ring two weeks ago. Ten men were arrested on charges of drug trafficking and bringing cocaine in to different parts of Colorado.
"By disrupting this ring, more than 25 kilograms, or about 55 pounds, are now off the streets," Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said."This is a significant cocaine seizure for the state of Colorado."
The drugs were moved mostly into the Denver and Aurora area, but drugs were also moved in Broomfield and Fort Collins, according to authorities. Some drugs were also distributed in Salt Lake City and other parts of Utah.
DEA officials said they arrested four men in California and six in Colorado. All of the men apparently are in the United States illegally.
They said the drugs were often smuggled using secret compartments inside vehicles.
If convicted, each of the suspects could face as much as 60 years behind bars.
All 10 men were in the U.S. illegally.
