The leaders of a Greeley-based drug ring that allegedly distributed large amounts of cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine in six states, including Colorado, have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver.
Indicted were Jose Felipe Maya-Hernandez, 40, and Raul Tarciscio Gonzalez, 38, both of Greeley.
Their organization, according to U.S. Attorney Troy Eid, distributed the drugs in northern Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Iowa and South Dakota.
According to investigators, the organization obtained the drugs from Mexico, Texas, Arizona and California.
Eid said that during the course of the sweeping investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Weld County Task Force, another Greeley-based drug ring also was brought down.
He identified the leaders of the second drug ring as Jesus Noe Mendoza Ochoa, 30, of Greeley; Jorge Jacquez Perez, 33, of Avon; and Bernardo Rascon-Mendoza, 34, of Chihuahua, Mexico.
The leaders of both organizations were arrested without incident, according to officials.
In addition to the arrests, authorities seized 15 pounds of methamphetamine, 2 kilos of cocaine, 1,013 pounds of marijuana, 10 weapons, $118,651 in currency and four vehicles valued at more than $62,000.
The drugs were transported to Colorado in vehicles with sophisticated hidden compartments, according to investigators.
DEA offices in Los Angeles; Green Bay, Wis., Omaha; and Des Moines, Iowa, assisted in the investigation. Also involved were the Greeley and Evans police departments, the Front Range Task Force, and the Colorado State Patrol.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
