An Adams County grand jury indicted nine members of a Mexican cartel — the Sanudo-Rivera drug trafficking organization — that allegedly brought “large quantities” of drugs into Adams County and other parts of Colorado.

The members have been charged on allegations of bringing fentanyl, methamphetamines and cocaine into Adams County as well as Oregon, Nevada and Arizona, according to a press release by the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

Adams County District Attorney Brian Mason, DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division and the North Metro Task Force held a press conference on Wednesday to discuss the task force and overall indictment.

The North Metro Task Force’s Dress for Less operation investigated drug distribution between the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico and the Adams County area. Local drug distributors were found in Westminster and Federal Heights.

Through the use of wiretapping, the task force was able to stop the distribution of over 381,000 fentanyl pills from hitting Adams County streets, according to Mason. All of which could have been “lethal to any member of this community,” Mason said.

Mason noted that wiretapping is only used when deemed necessary.

“If we didn’t have the capabilities to wiretap and follow who was bringing these drugs here and where they were bringing them, these drugs would be out on the streets right now,” Mason said at the press conference. “I am confident more people would be dead because of it.”

Mason estimates that the Metro Task Force will intercept over a million fentanyl doses in 2023. A majority of the distribution coming from the Mexican cartel.

He stated that the Mexican cartel has an “enormous presence” in the local drug community throughout the state. He said the cartel has a “very sophisticated operation to get drugs here and they have people here who are working for them and helping them… We’re going after that.”

Juan Sanudo-Rivera, Joel Galvez-Perez, Dallas Beller, Ivan Rodriguez, Jorge Trejo, Aaron Owens, Gabriella Olds, Cristian Quintanilla-Galvan and Diego Salazar face charges including racketeering, conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and conspiracy to commit money laundering — along with a bevy of 44 other charges.

Along with the indictment, the operation led to a collection of seizures including:

• A methamphetamine lab
• 84.3 pounds of fentanyl pills
• 66 pounds of methamphetamine
• 1.4 kilos of cocaine
• Five guns

Only Beller, Owens and Sanudo-Rivera are currently in custody. The other six remain at-large.

“The DEA continues to be laser focused on the Sinaloa Cartel and their network,” Acting Special in Charge David Olesky, DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division, said in the news release. “The significant seizures of fentanyl and methamphetamine made in the Denver-Metro area over the course of this investigation demonstrates the commitment law enforcement in the region has to addressing the problem, but also the influence the cartels have in our communities.”

Olesky said the work to bring down the Sinaloa Cartel will continue.