DENVER — Nearly two dozen people have been indicted for their alleged roles in the running of a large-scale Denver-based heroin trafficking organization, according to United States Attorney Jason Dunn.
His office, along with the Denver Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), announced Wednesday that 23 people were indicted on 37 counts.
According to allegations contained in the indictment as well as information from detention hearings, defendants Azusena Maribel Sierra and her husband Juan Antonio Amaya-Nunez were at the center of the organization.
Sierra was the heroin dispatcher and money collector who, on a daily basis, received calls and texts from dozens of street-level customers, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said.
The indictment says Sierra took heroin orders, dispatched multiple runners to meet with, make deliveries to and collect money from customers, and collected money at the end of the day. The organization distributed approximately one kilogram of heroin every week, according to the indictment.
Following an investigation that was initiated in September 2019, agents and officers seized around 33 kilograms of heroin, about $100,000 in cash and two firearms.
The defendants face charges including conspiracy to distribute heroin, money laundering, transporting heroin in aid of racketeering and using telephones in connection with drug trafficking.
Of those indicted, 14 defendants have been arrested and have made their initial appearances in U.S. District Court where they were advised of their rights and the charges pending against them.
Nine other defendants are pending arrest and are considered fugitives.
Those charged include:
- Benjamin Lopes-Alvarado
- Azusena Maribel Sierra
- Hector Nunez-Sandoval
- Jorge Reyes Cruz-Garcia
- Bradley Michael White
- Michael Ian Mills
- Anna Marie Rebekah Davis
- Keven Alexander Perez
- Victoriano Hinojosa
- Oscar Manuel Oliveros
- Diego Romero-Cruz
- Christian Anthony Carver
- Abisai Escobar Flores
- Nicho Garcia
- Jesse Cervantes
- Victor Alonso Carreon
- Adrianna Rafaela Holguin
In addition to the named defendants, six indicted individuals have not been identified.
“Thanks to the great work of the DEA and our team, we’ve dismantled a significant drug trafficking organization in the metro-area,” said Dunn. “While others may seek to fill the newly created vacuum, they are on notice that we will come for them with the same zeal that we pursued these defendants.”
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