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In a record-breaking drug bust, authorities in Colorado discovered 1.7 million counterfeit fentanyl pills in a storage unit in Highlands Ranch. On November 11, a winning bidder at a storage unit auction stumbled upon the illegal narcotics and promptly alerted the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. This seizure marks the largest of its kind in Colorado history and the sixth largest in the United States.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the storage unit contained not only the counterfeit pills but also 12 kilograms of fentanyl powder, which could potentially yield up to an additional six million pills. The DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division Special Agent in Charge, David Olesky, emphasized the significance of the bust, stating, "There is no doubt many lives have been saved by keeping these poison pills off the streets of Colorado." The registered owner of the storage unit was already in federal custody, having been arrested in April, which led to the unit being auctioned off.
The DEA and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have linked the storage unit to a major drug trafficking organization associated with the Sinaloa Cartel. CBI Director Armando Saldate noted that the sheer volume of drugs indicated a sophisticated operation. The DEA is actively pursuing the cartel, aiming to dismantle its operations.
Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly expressed gratitude to the citizen who reported the discovery and the storage facility staff for their cooperation. He reiterated a strong stance against illegal narcotics in the county, stating, "Fentanyl and illegal narcotics will not be tolerated in Douglas County."