14 arrested in Colorado, South Dakota following investigation into regional cocaine ring

An investigation led by federal agencies into a multi-state cocaine trafficking organization recently led to the arrests of 14 people and the seizure of 37 guns, more than $61,000, and roughly five kilograms of cocaine intended for distribution. 

Three people in Colorado were the first taken into custody during "Operation Black Boot," as investigators named it. Wuttichai Chankaeo, a 32-year-old living in Commerce City, along with 49-year-old Joseph Valdez and 42-year-old Amber Bravo, both of Westminster, were arrested June 16.

According to Vikki Migoya, a spokesperson with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Denver office, agents from the Denver and South Dakota offices made those arrests. They located 17 guns during the searches of the Colorado properties that same day. 

The other 11 arrestees, all from South Dakota, were taken into custody more than a month later on July 21. They are from Box Elder, Rapid City, and the Pine Ridge Reservation, and range in age from 23 to 38. 

All those arrested face federal drug distribution charges, according to a press release from the South Dakota FBI office. Additional charges may come for alleged financial crimes and firearms offenses. 

Operation Black Boot was led by the FBI Badlands Safe Trails Task Force (personnel from the FBI, the Bureau of Indian Affairs-Division of Drug Enforcement, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety). The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and IRS's Criminal Investigation unit, along with the South Dakota National Guard Counter Drug Unit, South Dakota Highway Patrol, and Rapid City Police Department also assisted in the investigation.

"These were subjects allegedly flooding Pine Ridge and surrounding Indian Country with deadly narcotics going unchecked for years - and now they'll face justice thanks to this sweeping investigation with partners," stated FBI Director Kash Patel in the press release. "This op is an example of how this FBI is committing never before seen resources to our Indian Country partners who have been wrongly forgotten for decades. .... These communities deserve to be remembered and under this FBI, they will be."  

The effort was part of Operation Take Back America, per the press release. 

None of the publicly available court documents contained further details about the investigation or operation.