Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office announced a major undercover operation in the Four Corners Region where the result confiscated $1.1 million worth of drugs during a coordinated investigation spanning local and federal agencies.
The six-month investigation ended May 8 and was led by the Montezuma-Cortez Narcotics Investigations Team, a two-person local joint task force that seized more than $13.3 million worth of drugs last year.
Carlos Miramontes was arrested in connection with the alleged drug trafficking operation. He faces preliminary arrest charges of two counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance, level-one drug felonies, and two counts of drug possession – level-four drug felonies.
District Attorney Jeremy Reed said the investigation remains ongoing. The formal court process of filing charges hasn’t occurred yet but Miramontes appeared in the Montezuma County Combined Court Wednesday for a status hearing.
“It looks like Mr. Miramontes was advised over the weekend,” County Court Judge Ian MacLaren said. “At that point in time, bond was set at $250,000 cash surety. We need to get this set for return of filing charges.”
MacLaren said that will occur at the next court date 9 a.m. May 28 in front of District Court Judge William Furse.
Although the alleged activity took place at the Ute Mountain Casino Hotel, Reed said the case falls under 22nd Judicial District jurisdiction because no tribal members were involved.
The amount of drugs seized, according to the sheriff’s office, was 61-plus pounds of crystal methamphetamine and about 56,000 counterfeit fentanyl pills. The investigative work was a major collaboration between the local task force, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Montrose Police Department, Montrose County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Marshals Service, Colorado Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Land Management.
Sheriff Steve Nowlin said there’s additional investigations active in other states.
“Cortez is a hub,” Nowlin said. “We've been working diligently to put an end to this, but it's pretty well spread out. I know that there are multiple suspects in multiple states.”
The MCNIT is made up of one detective from Cortez Police Department and one from the Sheriff’s Office working with support from the DEA, BIA, and Department of Justice focused on large-scale drug investigations related to sales, distribution and importation.
Detective Sgt. Victor Galarza, team supervisor, said in a January report intelligence points to Montezuma County as a regional hub for trafficking groups linked to organized crime of the Mexican cartels.
Galarza stated in the report it’s believed more than nine organizations operate around the county.
The task force seized drugs worth a street value of $13.3 million last year, according to the 2025 end-of-year report. Those seizures included over 88 pounds of meth, 168 pounds of cocaine, 23,370 counterfeit fentanyl pills and nearly 10 ounces of fentanyl powder. The sharp increase marked a 1,874% rise in fentanyl pill confiscations since 2024.
The team led Operation Wild Mustang, the county’s largest narcotics investigation to date that went from October 2023 to summer of 2025.
During the operation, MCNIT identified 180 people “tied to the regional drug underworld” in Cortez, Montezuma County and the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation. It uncovered suppliers with direct lines from Mexican cartels, which led to 15 people being charged or convicted.
awatson@the-journal.com
