DENVER — The Denver District Attorney's Office on Monday announced the indictment of 17 people who allegedly ran a vehicle theft ring in the Denver metro area.
Denver District Attorney Beth McCann said a Denver grand jury returned a 222-count indictment that charged 17 defendants with numerous violations of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act (COCCA). More than 100 of those counts were for auto theft, and more than a dozen counts were for drug possession and distribution.
"We're here today to talk about the results of a more than year-long multi-agency, as you can see, a multi-jurisdictional investigation into a major stolen car ring in Denver and the metro area," DA McCann said during a press conference Monday. "As you can see, a lot of agencies, a lot of collaboration among the different federal and state agencies and city as a result of this investigation."
McCann said the defendants allegedly stole at least 190 vehicles between September 2022 and February 2024, with the majority of the vehicles stolen between May and October 2023.
Read the full indictment below:
It's alleged the defendants would steal the vehicles from and near Denver International Airport, take those vehicles across the U.S.-Mexico border and give them to drug cartel members in exchange for drugs like cocaine, meth, and fentanyl. Officials said the defendants would then import those drugs back into the U.S. and bring them into Denver.
"It is something akin to what we might see in a Hollywood movie," said Special Agent in Charge David Olesky with the US Drug Enforcement Administration's Rocky Mountain Field Division. "This network targeted vehicles here in the Denver metro area which were desired by Mexico-based drug trafficking organizations, which could best be modified to support ballistic armor as well as be mounted with high caliber munitions and firearms."
Olesky said the defendants' preferred vehicles to steal were larger pickup trucks like F-250s, raptors, and even high-end SUVs.
"The Mexico-based drug cartels are a multi-billion dollar enterprise. While the trafficking of illegal drugs may be their principal source of revenue, their lines of business include arms trafficking, human trafficking, and this investigation also affirmed stolen vehicles," he said.
Officials told Denver7 they believe the defendants targeted Denver and its airport because of its location.
"Denver is uniquely geographically situated in that we have a major international airport, and we have a lot of surrounding states which don't have the same access to international travel or other flights," said Alison Foley, a prosecutor with the Denver District Attorney's Office. "You have a lot of people driving in, generally from the mountains, generally in four-wheel drive vehicles or larger pickup trucks, who are coming to Denver for the purposes of being able to take a long flight or to go to travel somewhere for a significant amount of time."
"We are also on I-25 and on I-70, which makes moving vehicles out of the city and county of Denver relatively easy," Foley said. "Some of these individuals have explained to us that they were able to get in a car in the city and county of Denver. They drove straight south until they dropped the car off in El Paso, and that ended their role in this part of the organization."
According to Foley, 11 of the 17 people indicted are in custody.
"Each of the individuals pictured on this board played a slightly different role within the organization," she said. "Some of these individuals were directly tied into the cartel and are currently, we believe, located in Mexico."
Denver7 reached out to Denver International Airport for information regarding car thefts at airport-owned parking lots. According to a spokesperson, between January 2023 and November 2023, there were 716 vehicles reported stolen from the airport. Between January 2024 and November 2024, 273 vehicles were reported stolen from the airport.
In a statement, a spokesperson said Denver International Airport, "just like other airports, is a target rich environment due to the number of vehicles in our parking facilities. 99.9 percent of drivers who park at DEN do not experience these issues."
Full statement:
DEN, just like other airports, is a target rich environment due to the number of vehicles in our parking facilities. 99.9 percent of drivers who park at DEN do not experience these issues.
However, one auto theft is one too many. Through a focused and coordinated effort with our law enforcement partners and contractors to improve and increase security measures, surveillance, and enforcement, auto thefts at DEN continue to significantly decline.
DEN auto theft statistics include theft from rental car facilities. These locations maintain their own operations that are not managed by the airport. Theft statistics from rental car companies include missing inventory and vehicles that are past due (not yet returned).
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