DENVER (KDVR) — Members from two organized crime groups are facing charges after allegedly burglarizing more than 40 marijuana dispensaries resulting in the theft of approximately $780,000 in cash and property.
Following multi-agency investigations conducted by city, state and nationwide agencies, 23 members of the two separate organized crime groups will be charged with stealing or carjacking vehicles and using them to burglarize marijuana dispensaries, federal firearms licensees and other businesses in the Denver metro area between September 2022 and November 2023.
The defendants will face other charges including aggravated robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, illegal possession of firearms (including a firearm linked to an open murder investigation) and violations of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act, according to Denver District Attorney Beth McCann.
“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. 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,” said DA McCann.
Multiple agencies investigated the case, including the Denver District Attorney’s Office, Denver Police Department, Aurora Police Department, 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.).