A sophisticated Denver-based drug ring that distributed ecstasy and high-grade marijuana in the metro area has been dismantled, state and federal officials said Thursday.
The organization, allegedly headed by Thanh Thea Hau of Denver, brought 50 to 100 pounds of marijuana into Denver a month, according to Jeffrey Sweetin, Drug Enforcement Administration special agent in charge of the Rocky Mountain Division.
The marijuana was sold on Denver streets for $500 an ounce, Sweetin said.
Sweetin said that the ring, which has a number of Vietnamese- Americans in its top echelon, is an organized crime group operating in several states.
“The organization has been linked to stolen cars, numerous guns, Uzis, marijuana, (illegal) mushrooms, counterfeit bills,” he said. “We are talking about multi-pound deals.”
Sweetin said that Hau, 22, is a silent part-owner of DC10, 940 Lincoln St., described by the DEA as an upscale nightclub with an airline theme.
Two of the indicted Vietnamese- Americans are in Vietnam, DEA agent Mike Turner said. None of the Vietnamese are illegal immigrants, he added.
Sweetin said the demand for high-quality marijuana was so great in Denver that Hau began growing marijuana indoors. Agents seized three indoor-growing operations, finding 414 live marijuana plants capable of producing $3.3 million worth of marijuana.
Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey said the investigation resulted in the most people included in one indictment in the history of the Denver district attorney’s office, with 38 people charged.
The 152-count indictment alleges Hau’s organization transported 50- to 100-pound quantities of “BC Bud” marijuana, a high-grade form of marijuana grown in the Pacific Northwest. The marijuana was valued at $3,000 to $4,000 a pound because of the drug’s potency.
Sweetin said Hau was making up to $150,000 a month from his enterprise.
Mason Tvert, campaign director for the Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Committee, a group attempting to legalize possession of less than an ounce of marijuana for adults in Colorado, said the indictment so close to the election is suspicious.
According to the DEA, Hau was in contact with marijuana distributors in Seattle and San Francisco and would personally arrange for the purchase of each load of marijuana.
Once the marijuana had been selected by the distributor, Hau would send a driver from Denver to pick up the marijuana and drive the drugs back to Denver in a rental vehicle, authorities said.
On Sept. 19, investigators executed search warrants on six locations in the Denver area.
They seized about 70 pounds of high-quality marijuana, several marijuana indoor-growing operations containing the live marijuana plants, $149,000 and 13 vehicles valued at $274,000.
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
