Drugs seized during a traffic stop by the Weld County Sheriff's Office | Weld County Sheriff's Office
Drugs seized during a traffic stop by the Weld County Sheriff's Office | Weld County Sheriff's Office
The Weld County Sheriff's Office recently praised the officers involved in seizing large amounts of meth and counterfeit pills.
A series of drug busts this fall led to the Weld County Drug Task Force seizing more than 34 pounds of methamphetamine and tens of thousands of counterfeit pills that might contain fentanyl, Fox 31 reported. In the first drug bust, a Weld County Sheriff’s Office K-9 deputy discovered approximately 1,000 counterfeit M-30 that are suspected of containing fentanyl.
New Mexico resident Irene Barela, 58, is facing two felony charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute as well as special offender status for transporting the narcotics into Colorado.
"Great work by some great deputies!" Weld County Sheriff's Office wrote in an Oct. 20 Facebook post.
In the second drug bust, a Weld County Sheriff’s K-9 deputy stopped a truck on Highway 85 in Gilcrest and discovered approximately 4,000 counterfeit M-30 pills that are suspected of containing fentanyl and more than 5 pounds of methamphetamine. The narcotics were in the possession of Jorge Garcia-Loya, 36, who is now facing felony charges of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of a controlled substance. Garcia-Loya was also driving more than 20 mph over the speed limit at the time of the traffic stop.
On the day of Garcia-Loya's arrest, authorities obtained a search warrant for his house and discovered an additional 60,000 pills suspected of containing fentanyl, as well as more than 26 pounds of methamphetamine. The Weld County Sheriff's Office believes that Garcia-Loya and Barela are tied to a Mexican criminal organization that transports drugs on a route through New Mexico into Colorado. Collectively in 2021, the Weld County Drug Task Force seized more than 50 pounds of methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin, as well as 12,000 counterfeit fentanyl pills and 137 firearms.
"One pill can kill 500 Colorado kids," Republican gubernatorial candidate Heidi Ganahl wrote in an Oct. 19 Twitter post. "Until the US border is secure, fentanyl will continue to flow from Mexico into CO. @jaredpolis refuses to believe this. We must shut down the I-25 drug pipeline by ending our sanctuary status & supporting border states."
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