Drug enforcement officials have arrested a half-dozen people who they say ran a Boulder County drug ring in which two juveniles were used as couriers in an effort to escape detection.
Federal authorities said a coalition of local drug traffickers had formed an alliance and were trying to corner the methamphetamine market in the Boulder County area.
After an eight-month investigation, agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and a task force of local authorities made the arrests and confiscated a host of drugs, including 3.2 pounds of cocaine, 1.2 pounds of methamphetamine, 1.5 pounds of Ecstasy and 400 doses of mushrooms, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Denver.
As they investigated one drug ring, they encountered a separate cocaine and Ecstasy drug-trafficking organization in Boulder and arrested 22-year-old Michael Burleson of Boulder County.
“Current attitudes tend to characterize drug traffickers as harmless and misunderstood,” Jeffrey Sweetin, special agent in charge of the Denver DEA office, said in a written statement. “This investigation demonstrates that this is a myth.”
Sweetin pointed to the group’s use of underage couriers. Authorities say two teenagers were involved in drug distribution.
Also arrested were: Santiago Mena-Flores, 26, of Henderson; and Kenneth F. Fuqua, 26, of Brighton. Also facing charges are: Donald Jason Skinner, 31; Richard Lee Clark, 27; Gregory D. Dixon, 31; and Benito Garcia, 26.
Staff writer Alicia Caldwell can be reached at 303-820-1930 or acaldwell@denverpost.com.
