Mexican Drug Kingpin Extradited to Denver

DENVER --

A man federal authorities accuse of being a Mexican drug kingpin has been extradited to the United States to stand trial after he was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver.

Oscar Arriola appeared before a U.S. Magistrate in Denver Wednesday afternoon.

According to federal court documents, the Drug Enforcement Administration's Colorado Springs office began an investigation in June 2002 that eventually led to the identification of Arriola as the head of an international cocaine trafficking organization that smuggled and distributed more than 2 tons of cocaine per month in the United States. In addition, the Arriola organization allegedly collected hundreds of millions of dollars in drug proceeds in the United States and transported the cash to Arriola and other leaders of the organization in Mexico, federal officials said in a statement.

The Colorado Springs investigation began with an anonymous telephone tip to a Pueblo, Colo., Crime Stoppers tip line regarding a ranch property in Peyton, Colo., that was suspected of being used to store large shipments of cocaine. During a lengthy investigation, agents determined that the Peyton ranch served as a cocaine storage and transportation center for the Arriola organization, federal officials said.

From 2002 through 2004, DEA offices in Colorado Springs, Denver, El Paso, Chicago, New York, Albuquerque, North Carolina and Mexico coordinated investigative efforts against the Arriola organization. Law enforcement officers in the U.S. and Mexico seized more than 5,000 pounds of cocaine, approximately $50 million in cash and other assets, and arrested 60 key members of the Arriola organization in the U.S.

Agents obtained evidence indicating that the organization had extensive U.S. cocaine distribution networks in Texas, Colorado, Illinois, New York, Georgia, Missouri, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Maryland, Indiana, Michigan, Kansas, New Jersey, South Carolina, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. The organization allegedly had dozens of drug and money transporters operating almost nonstop, delivering cocaine to the U.S., then collecting the drug proceeds and delivering them to the Arriola organization bosses in Mexico, the indictment said. One money transporter told federal investigators that he alone had collected and transported $43 million in a 12-month period as part of the ring.

Arriola faces one count of conspiracy to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and one count of importation of cocaine, both of which carry penalties of not less than 10 years, and up to life in federal prison, and up to a $4 million fine. If convicted of the one count of money laundering conspiracy, Arriola faces no more than 20 years imprisonment and/or a $500,000 fine.

“Thanks to the extraordinary cooperation between our partners in Mexico, the Department of Justice in Washington, DEA field offices across the country, and the U.S. attorney’s office in Colorado, a major drug kingpin has been extradited to Colorado to face charges of operating a massive drug distribution organization,” U.S. Attorney David Gaouette said.

“We deeply appreciate the cooperation we’ve received from Mexico in the extradition of Oscar Arriola to the United States to face this serious federal drug charge,” DEA Special Agent in Charge in Denver Jeffrey Sweetin said. “According to the allegations, his organization’s drug trafficking in Mexico and the United States allowed him to amass incredible wealth, at the expense of the citizens of both countries. He will now be held accountable in U.S. District Court in Colorado for those illegal activities.”

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