DA, DEA says 1 of largest Colorado fentanyl bust made after 'lengthy wiretap'

What is believed to be one of the largest fentanyl pill drug busts in Colorado history was announced Wednesday at a joint press conference with the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office and the DEA. Officials said a "lengthy wiretap investigation" led to the monumental bust.

The DEA says fentanyl-related deaths shot up more than 210% between 2018 and 2021 in Colorado. Even before this bust, Colorado State Patrol had seized more than 225 pounds of fentanyl. That's compared to 150 pounds all of last year.

"In my 31 years of law enforcement, I have never seen anything like the current drug crisis and how it is adversely affecting our communities," said Brian Besser, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA's Denver Field Division.

Fentanyl in Colorado has been an increasingly troubling issue. 

"Let me put that into perspective; the entire population of the state of Colorado is 6 million people," Besser said. "And we could kill 25 million people with what was hidden ... in a car."

According to the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, more than 900 people died of fentanyl overdoses in Colorado last year.

Last month, CSP troopers made what they believed was the biggest bust on a highway when they recovered 114 pounds of pure fentanyl on I-70 near Georgetown.