Feds: Busted cocaine ring brought 20 kilos a week to Denver from Juarez, Mexico

U.S. Attorney John Walsh discusses the case.
Photo by Gabe Christus. Click to enlarge.

DENVER | Federal prosecutors said Monday they busted a cocaine trafficking ring that brought about 20 kilograms of cocaine to Denver from Mexico every week. 

The case, dubbed “Operation Triple Stack,” included drug distribution charges against 35 people — 29 of which are now in custody — and the seizure of 53 kilograms of cocaine, 35 pounds of marijuana, $650,000 in cash, nine firearms and 15 vehicles. 

The ring, which has ties to the violent Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, brought drugs north on Interstate 25 from Juarez, Mexico, to Denver and distributed them in the area with the help of the Tre Deuce Gangster Crips and North Side Mafia street gangs, United States Attorney for Colorado John Walsh said at a press conference in Denver. 

“This is not a case in which the drugs were destined for other cities or other states, but rather for use here in Colorado,” Walsh said. 

All of the suspects face a maximum sentence of between 10 years and life in federal prison and fines of up to $4 million. 

One of the suspects arrested was Ronald Rocha, 40, an assistant baseball coach at Regis University in Denver. 

Police and federal agents arrested most of the suspects in the Denver area last week. Others were arrested in Alabama, Illinois, Nevada and El Paso, Texas. 

One suspect — Jaime Cordova-Campos, 40 — was from Aurora. 

While Cordova-Campos was the only suspect from Aurora and the majority of the drug sales happened in Denver, Aurora police Chief Dan Oates said the ring operated around the region, including in Aurora. 

“It was clearly, without question, a regional problem,” Oates said. “If you got your hands on cocaine in the Denver metro region in the last two years, there is a very high probability you got that cocaine from this organization.”

Walsh said the investigation started with the Tre Deuce Gangster Crips in Colorado and grew to include dozens of people.

Most of the defendants are United States citizens with ties to the cartel in Mexico, he said. 

“This, unfortunately, is pretty much a homegrown operation,” Walsh said. 

The suspects hid drugs, including powder and crack cocaine, in secret compartments in vehicles and drove them from Juarez to Denver. 

Roughly 20 kilograms a week — 80 kilograms a month — came to Denver because of the ring, Walsh said. 

“Taking 20 kilograms off the streets of Colorado on a weekly basis is a substantial crimp on the cocaine flow in Colorado,” Walsh said.