The Montezuma-Cortez Narcotics Investigation Team announced that it seized nearly 10 pounds of drugs and thousands of dollars in cash in an operation Wednesday that included assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Indian Affair’s Division of Drug Enforcement and the Cortez Police Department.
The teams confiscated drugs and money that had been trafficked into Montezuma County, including 6.3 pounds of methamphetamine, 3.1 pounds of cocaine, a defaced firearm and more than $14,000 in cash.
“MCNIT continues to prevent large trafficking organizations from conducting business in Montezuma County, the Four Corners Region and the state of Colorado,” the Montezuma-Cortez Narcotics Investigation team said via Facebook. “This large investigation shows our commitment to keeping our community safe, and we will continue to be vigilant against these types of crimes.”
Because of the nature of the investigation, members of the narcotics investigation team did not provide additional details.
“As of right now, the Montezuma-Narcotics Investigation Team is one of the smallest ones, if not the smallest drug task force in the state of Colorado,” said Sheriff’s Detective Sgt. Victor Galarza, the lead investigator on the case and narcotics team supervisor. “Our job is to identify, infiltrate, disrupt and dismantle the large drug trafficking organizations coming into Montezuma County, the Four Corners region and the state of Colorado.”
In the past three years, Montezuma County and Cortez have become a “regional hub of distribution” for illicit drugs, Galarza said.
“Cortez not only provides illegal narcotics for our county, but for San Juan County, New Mexico, the Farmington region, the reservation in Arizona, all the way to Utah and in Colorado, anywhere,” Galarza said. “We suspect that from Montrose all the way to Pagosa Springs, and maybe even farther than that.”
In the past year and a half, transnational criminal organizations have been found to be trafficking various substances, including crystal methamphetamine, into Montezuma County. Recently, crystal meth found, seized and tested in Montezuma County has been found to be 100% pure.
These cartel groups are now classified as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration.
“What you saw in that picture (of the drugs confiscated during the seizure) is a very small portion of that,” Galarza told The Journal on Friday. “The concerning part is that the crystal methamphetamine that we’re finding is 100% pure. This is cartel dope.”
Galarza also noted that powdered fentanyl is now coming “directly” to Cortez, and some of this powdered fentanyl is a mixture that cannot be combated by Narcan because it is mixed with xylazine, a large-animal sedative/tranquilizer.
“When we speak about powdered fentanyl, we’re talking about a deadly narcotic that can literally kill someone in an instant,” Galarza said. “People are using the powder fentanyl containing xylazine at a level we’ve never seen before. Not just here in Cortez, not just here in Colorado, but throughout the United States.”
In a recent investigation, a narcotics team member was exposed to powdered fentanyl and taken to the hospital.
Galarza noted that the narcotics investigation team can’t keep doing its work without the help and support of the community.
“This small drug team is running at such a high pace,” Galarza said. “I don’t know how long we can continue to do that without the help of our community and without gaining more manpower. … We need the support of the community number one, and by support, I mean they realize that we are less than a handful of investigators working at a very demanding pace. We need resources and we need manpower, but we remain vigilant and committed to combating these crimes affecting our county.”
