DENVER — The Colorado Attorney General’s Office announced Wednesday that two Colorado residents had been indicted in a multi-million-dollar international drug trafficking network that distributed multiple kilos of cocaine on a monthly basis. Eight of 16 people indicated have been arrested along with 134 kilograms of cocaine seized.
Federal and state authorities launched an investigation into the group in April 2017, dubbed Operation White Whale, and learned the 16 individuals were involved in transporting cocaine from Mexico into the United States to a distribution network in Atlanta, according to a release from the Colorado Attorney General’s Office. The eight arrests took place August 15 of this year.
According to the indictment, the head of the group lived in Greeley and arranged to import large quantities of cocaine from various sources from Mexico into the U.S. At times, the group utilized semi-trailer trucks from a Colorado-based trucking company to transport the cocaine throughout the southern U.S. The drug trafficking organization also used money laundering operations run by Chinese nationals to launder the proceeds through Chinese banks and back to Mexico, the indictment read.
Jesus Arevalo-Arvizo, Julian Anchondo-Galaviz, Tommie Leon Walker and Juan Carlos Garcia-Martinez have all been charged with violations of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act. They’re also facing charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and money laundering. The dozen other suspects are facing similar drug charges.
