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Dealer receives 376 years in prison in Colorado drug trafficking case

Jose Arellano-Arredondo, 67, was sentenced by a Weld County judge to 376 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections for drug trafficking.

The leader of a drug trafficking operation in Colorado has been sentenced to a whopping 376 years in prison, according to county authorities.

Jose Arellano-Arredondo, 67, was sentenced last week after a jury found him guilty in June on more than 40 counts, including drug offenses and money laundering, the Weld County District Attorney's Office said in a news release.

“For years, this man flooded our streets and our community with massive amounts of poison,” Assistant District Attorney Michael Pirraglia said in the news release. “The true extent of the lives he destroyed may never be known. He exploited the addictions of others for his personal profit, and we will not tolerate this behavior in our community.”

How was Arellano-Arredondo caught?

Arellano-Arredondo's conviction came after an undercover investigation that began in 2019 by a county-organized drug task force. The investigation revealed that drugs were smuggled from Mexico to Nevada and Arizona before reaching Arellano-Arredondo in Greeley, Colorado, prosecutors said.

Authorities also conducted undercover purchases before executing search warrants on Arellano-Arredondo's home in September 2020.

During the investigation into Arellano-Arredondo's operation, law enforcement intercepted and seized thousands of fentanyl pills, several pounds of meth, several ounces of cocaine and more than $100,000 in cash, the release states. All of the money and illegal drugs were linked to Arellano-Arredondo and his co-conspirators.

Arellano-Arredondo is currently housed in the Colorado Department of Corrections.

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