Drug Trafficking

Climbing Cocaine Mountain

Letters to the Editor

From the week of October 21, 2004

Brujeria

Friday, November 28, 3 Kings Tavern, 303-777-7352.

The Hit Man Nobody Knows

The government says he killed more people than Tim McVeigh. He lives in a cell a hundred miles from Denver. So how come you've never heard of La Quica?

Vacation in Hell

The government says he killed more people than Tim McVeigh. He lives in a cell a hundred miles from Denver. So how come you've never heard of La Quica?

Exposing His Cockney

Mexicans and Englishmen aren’t so far apart.

Rick Ross

Port of Miami (Def Jam)

Near Myth

Su Teatro's El Sol Que Tú Eres is an uneasy marriage of styles.

SuperHeavyGoatAss

Friday, September 2, Larimer Lounge, 303-291-1007.

Sug'z

They Call Me SUG'Z [shoog'z] (Greenback Records)

The Maverick

Telluride lawman Bill Masters is no dope. So what turned him against the war on drugs?

A Mile High and Rising

The drug trade in Denver and the surrounding area is getting worse -- much worse.

Growing, Growing, Gone

When the U.S. declared war on drugs, Colorado's carnation industry went up in smoke

SPYING TINGLER

When the U.S. declared war on drugs, Colorado's carnation industry went up in smoke

Colorado Crimes: Read the plea agreement in Denver halfway-house case

A Flickr photo Escaping from a halfway house isn't the same as busting out of jail. After all, it can be done while walking instead of running. But it's still a serious offense in the eyes of the law, which is why Alejandro Barron-Reyes, 34, was just sentenced to eighteen months for splitting from ... More >>

Former Bronco Travis Henry sentenced to three years in prison

Travis Henry during his locker-room days. Back in September, former Denver Broncos running back Travis Henry was arrested in relation to a series of cocaine-related charges -- but because the drugs in question were found in Montana, the trial took place there rather than in Denver. That proceeding ... More >>

How good fortune graced the namesake of the "Dan Tang Drug Trafficking Organization"

Travis Henry during his locker-room days. Back in September, former Denver Broncos running back Travis Henry was arrested in relation to a series of cocaine-related charges -- but because the drugs in question were found in Montana, the trial took place there rather than in Denver. That proceeding ... More >>

Deconstructing Colorado's largest indoor pot bust

As described in this week's feature story, "Tales of the Dragon," prominent Thornton restaurateur Dan Tang has agreed to plead guilty to one count of money laundering for his involvement in a massive marijuana ring -- even though authorities believed Tang had much more involvement than just money l ... More >>

Medical-marijuana advocates fight Mexican drug cartel reports with the Always Buy Colorado Cannabis pledge

Coming to a medical-marijuana dispensary near you?​Opponents of medical-marijuana laws like Colorado Attorney General John Suthers are increasingly playing the crime card -- implying that the proliferation of dispensaries in Colorado is fueling illegal and increasingly dangerous behavior (with ... More >>

Operation Coronado and the La Familia bust: The Western Slope is Breaking Bad

This, my friends, is what three pounds of meth looks like.​I'm a proud native of the Western Slope, and when I grew up in Grand Junction, the main substance we had to worry about was uranium. Those were the days. Now, reports about meth busts are the opposite of unusual -- although few can com ... More >>

Miguel Angel Caro-Quintero: It's not every day the feds get a guilty plea from a drug kingpin with his own Wikipedia page

Miguel Angel Caro-Quintero once sold weed by the ton. Yes, the ton.​Miguel Angel Caro-Quintero, 46, who entered a guilty plea Friday in regard to charges against him in Colorado and Arizona, isn't just any drug peddler. As one of the reputed leaders of Mexico's Sonora cartel, he became the stu ... More >>

Dan Tang pleads guilty in exchange for reduced sentence

Dan Tang​This morning, prominent Thornton restaurant owner Dan Tang pled guilty to one count of money laundering for his role in what investigators labeled the "Dan Tang Drug Trafficking Organization." When authorities took down the drug ring in February 2008, they came away with 24,000 mari ... More >>

Meet Tom Gorman, the man behind law enforcement's medical marijuana bill

Tom Gorman thinks Colorado is going to pot -- and he's out to clean up the mess.​The Denver Post has labeled Tom Gorman, director of the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program, a "drug-war soldier" who didn't get the memo that the battle was over. Medical marijuana advoca ... More >>

Darrent Williams murder trial: A preview of the trial of accused killer Willie Clark

Tomorrow, a jury of eighteen Denver County residents will begin to hear evidence that Willie Clark killed Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams on New Year's Day 2007. They'll also hear evidence that he didn't, in a trial that's expected to take two weeks and include testimony from convicted ga ... More >>

A North Metro Task Force investigation takes another hit

Tomorrow, a jury of eighteen Denver County residents will begin to hear evidence that Willie Clark killed Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams on New Year's Day 2007. They'll also hear evidence that he didn't, in a trial that's expected to take two weeks and include testimony from convicted ga ... More >>

Dan Tang-Operation Fortune Cookie exclusive at Channel 31 not all that exclusive

Dan Tang's sentencing is tomorrow: Exclusive!​Update, 12:34 p.m.: Channel 31 reporter Julie Hayden has responded to an interview request on this subject. Look below the original item to read what she has to say. In an age of shrinking newsroom resources, media organizations are borrowing from ... More >>

Dan Tang, Operation Fortune Cookie prime suspect, sentenced to eighteen months

Dan Tang is facing 18 months in prison.​This afternoon, Chief U.S. District Judge Wiley Y. Daniel sentenced prominent Thornton restaurant owner Dan Tang to eighteen months in prison for his part in the largest marijuana bust in state history -- more than the probation requested by his lawyers, ... More >>

Dan Tang sentencing in Operation Fortune Cookie makes "absolutely no sense," says Tom Gorman, drug task force head

​The drama continues around Operation Fortune Cookie, the largest weed bust in state history, which imploded amid accusations of snitching cops, paid-off politicians and bureaucratic retribution. Last week, the drug investigation's main suspect, politically connected restaurateur Dan Tang, re ... More >>

Badlands: From Ground Zero of the Immigration Crisis Along the Mexican Border

​The drama continues around Operation Fortune Cookie, the largest weed bust in state history, which imploded amid accusations of snitching cops, paid-off politicians and bureaucratic retribution. Last week, the drug investigation's main suspect, politically connected restaurateur Dan Tang, re ... More >>

Cowboy Down: Rob Krentz's Family Talks About the Life and Death of the Murdered Arizona Rancher

​The drama continues around Operation Fortune Cookie, the largest weed bust in state history, which imploded amid accusations of snitching cops, paid-off politicians and bureaucratic retribution. Last week, the drug investigation's main suspect, politically connected restaurateur Dan Tang, re ... More >>

Drug ring in Boulder County: 17 indicted for meth, cocaine, to Stan Garnett's delight

Stan Garnett.​Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett, who's challenging John Suthers for the job of Colorado Attorney General, was able to burnish his law-and-order credentials today via the actions of a grand jury, which just handed down a 127-count, seventeen-person indictment aimed at a Lon ... More >>

A cunning American boy becomes a Mexican cartel soldier and East L.A. executioner

Stan Garnett.​Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett, who's challenging John Suthers for the job of Colorado Attorney General, was able to burnish his law-and-order credentials today via the actions of a grand jury, which just handed down a 127-count, seventeen-person indictment aimed at a Lon ... More >>

Inside America's kidnapping capital of Phoenix, Arizona

Stan Garnett.​Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett, who's challenging John Suthers for the job of Colorado Attorney General, was able to burnish his law-and-order credentials today via the actions of a grand jury, which just handed down a 127-count, seventeen-person indictment aimed at a Lon ... More >>

Heaven Dragon loses its liquor license (for now), while owner Dan Tang sits behind bars in drug bust fallout

Dan Tang​When you stop in at Heaven Dragon, the popular Thornton eatery that served President George W. Bush on three separate occasions, you'll likely notice two things missing. One is Dan Tang, the restaurant's workaholic owner, since on Monday he went to prison to start an eighteen-month se ... More >>

Asylum Denied: Only a fraction of Mexicans get U.S. asylum

Dan Tang​When you stop in at Heaven Dragon, the popular Thornton eatery that served President George W. Bush on three separate occasions, you'll likely notice two things missing. One is Dan Tang, the restaurant's workaholic owner, since on Monday he went to prison to start an eighteen-month se ... More >>

Pinalcchio

Renowned forensics experts say a Pinal County, Arizona deputy's high-profile tale about getting shot after encountering drug smugglers doesn't add up

Ramon Chavez, Gabriel Farias-Chavez accused in 50 lb. per month meth ring using car batteries

Ramon Chavez.​Colorado Attorney General John Suthers has announced the bust of an alleged nine-member drug ring, in which suspects such as Ramon Chavez and Gabriel Farias-Chavez are said to have transported up to fifty pounds of meth per month from Mexico into Colorado. Their storage container ... More >>

Ron Rocha, Regis coach, part of 20-kilos-a-week cocaine-ring bust: See mug shots & drug photos

Large photos below.​Last month, Ron Rocha, a volunteer baseball coach for Regis University, was on the losing end of an intra-squad matchup dubbed the Fall World Series. But he suffered an even greater defeat yesterday, when he was among 35 people named by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the bus ... More >>

Colorado Border School conference in Aurora to discuss border security, gangs, drug trafficking

​Colorado Border School sounds like an illegal immigration forum. But founder Pam Faraone, a chaplain with the Southwest Border Sheriffs Coalition in Texas, insists that's not the case. "Border School really isn't about immigration," she says. "It is the rest of the story about the issues of b ... More >>

Dr. Reefer, aka Pierre Werner: Ex-Boulder dispensary owner & his mom indicted in Vegas

Pierre Werner.​Update: Earlier this week, we told you about an investigation in Las Vegas targeting Pierre Werner, who ran a Boulder dispensary under his nickname, Dr. Reefer, before Colorado law established that a former felon like himself couldn't own an MMJ center. Now, the U.S. Attorney's ... More >>

Top 5 ass-kicking Pam Grier roles

​Don't mess with Pam Grier. The Colorado-residing actress is known for her bad-ass roles in blaxploitation films like Foxy Brown and Coffy, which are both screening tonight as part of the Crest Film Series at Crossroads Theater. In advance of the screening, we took a look at the top five ass-k ... More >>

Anthony Harvey, home decor expert -- and drug-ring leader, claims indictment (VIDEOS)

Big pic below.​Decorative Concrete Finishes' Anthony Harvey is the star and narrator of videos on his YouTube channel in which he and his crew reveal how an average backyard can be transformed into a showplace; see examples below. However, his current spotlight time doesn't focus on his skills ... More >>

What's the difference between drug cartels and the conquering kings of Europe?

Big pic below.​Decorative Concrete Finishes' Anthony Harvey is the star and narrator of videos on his YouTube channel in which he and his crew reveal how an average backyard can be transformed into a showplace; see examples below. However, his current spotlight time doesn't focus on his skills ... More >>