A suspected member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and a man with ties to a high-profile Mexican drug cartel are in custody as the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted four separate Denver-area operations – including one across the street from a police station.
Drugs, guns and ammo were also seized in the Wednesday morning operations, which took place in Aurora, Brighton, Lochbuie and Fort Lupton.
The DEA’s Rocky Mountain Division said it had taken a suspected TdA member into custody overnight at the infamous Edge of Lowry apartments in Aurora, but further details were scant as the operation continued. The Commerce City Police Department later identified the man as Henry Vargas.
According to CCPD, Vargas faces an extortion charge out of Commerce City for an incident that occurred on the RTD N Line on Tuesday. CCPD was there when Vargas was arrested by the DEA but could not share more about the circumstances surrounding the extortion charge.
🚨 #NEW#DEA/local LEO partners continue hitting streets day/night pursuing drug criminals.
— DEARockyMountain (@DEAROCKYMTNDiv) January 29, 2025
A suspected member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) was taken into custody in the Denver area overnight.
Due to the ongoing investigation, more info may be released later today. pic.twitter.com/exlY3gTjlZ
At least one arrest was made in separate operations that took place in Brighton, Lochbuie and Fort Morgan, neighboring suburbs about 20 miles northwest of Denver. The Lochbuie operation centered on seizing fentanyl and netted the arrest of a man with ties to the Sinaloa drug cartel, according to the DEA.
Firearms and “thousands of rounds of ammunition” were also seized from the Lochbuie home, located across County Road 37 from the Lochbuie police station, according to a DEA special agent in charge David Olesky.
"Fentanyl, fentanyl, fentanyl. And that's going to continue to be our priority at DEA. And it's about saving lives," Olesky said. "So what you're seeing a lot, especially as we start talking about firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition."
The Sinaloa cartel is among the most high-profile drug trafficking organizations in Mexico and was formerly led by infamous kingpin Juan “El Chapo” Guzman.
About four miles away, a shelter-in-place order was issued at the Eastgate Village mobile home park in Brighton amid a separate DEA operation. That order has since been lifted.
It was not immediately clear how many suspects were in custody in the Brighton operation. Multiple law enforcement agencies were involved and the city issued a statement saying the operation was not related to immigration enforcement.
The DEA told Denver7 a fourth operation occurred in Fort Lupton, north of Brighton, but did not share additional details.
The four operations Wednesday morning come on the heels of a pair of Drug Enforcement Administration raids that netted more than 50 arrests in the Denver area, and as sources tell Denver7 Investigates that ICE operations could begin in Aurora this week.
Early Sunday, Denver7 Investigates cameras were there exclusively as DEA agents raided an alleged invite-only party hosted by TdA members in Adams County. Forty-nine people were arrested. Two people who were in the US illegally and who have ties to high-profile Mexican drug cartels were arrested in another DEA bust Monday morning in Denver.
Olesky said the uptick in enforcement is due to a “renewed sense of purpose” at the agency under the Trump administration.
“We’re getting absolutely all the resources that we need not only at the federal level but at the local level as well,” he said. “And when it comes to immigration, that is just one of the tools in the toolbox that we’re going to be able to use to remove those violent criminals and drug traffickers from the communities.”
Denver7 has been following developments related to the Tren de Aragua gang activity in Colorado. Scroll through the timeline below to read our coverage.