Law enforcement officials in Colorado last week announced the arrest of 23 individuals for their alleged involvement in more than 40 cannabis dispensary burglaries in the Denver metropolitan area.
Denver District Attorney Beth McCann said in a statement on Friday that the 23 defendants are members of two separate organized crime groups. The arrests came following a lengthy investigation by several law enforcement agencies including the Denver District Attorney’s Office, Denver Police Department, Aurora Police Department, the FBI, ATF, the Regional Anti-Violence Enforcement Network (R.A.V.E.N.) and the Violent Criminal Enterprise Task Force (V.C.E.T.F.).
“These arrests send an unmistakable message that law enforcement agencies throughout the Denver metro area are committed to working together to disrupt and disband dangerous criminal organizations,” said McCann. “The streets of Denver are safer today because of these two investigations and I am grateful to the many law enforcement officers who have worked so hard on these cases to get us to this point.”
The defendants are accused of stealing or carjacking vehicles and using them to burglarize marijuana dispensaries, federal firearms licensees and other businesses in the Denver metropolitan area between September 2022 and November 2023, according to the district attorney’s office.
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