DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — An unpaid storage unit in Highlands Ranch has led to the single biggest fentanyl bust in Colorado and one of the largest in the country, federal and state authorities announced Monday.
An estimated 1.7 million fentanyl pills and 12 kg of fentanyl powder were seized from the storage unit last Tuesday after the contents of the unit were auctioned off, according to Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly.
Weekly said that the winner of that auction contacted authorities upon discovering the illicit drugs inside the storage unit.
"The reporting party undoubtedly saved countless lives not only in Douglas County but throughout Colorado and likely throughout our nation," Weekly said during a press conference Monday.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said the fentanyl is tied to a Mexican drug cartel whose members were recently arrested in Colorado as part of a multi-agency operation.
CBI Director Armando Saldate III said the storage unit was connected to a drug courier who was arrested in the earlier operation, and the fentanyl had been left in the unpaid storage unit for months.
DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division (RMFD) Special Agent in Charge David Olesky stated that this bust is not only the largest in Colorado but also the sixth largest in the country.
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