Aurora police, Drug Enforcement Administration join forces to make dent in drug trafficking
Aurora police and the Drug Enforcement Administration say a strengthened federal partnership is disrupting drug trafficking networks across the metro area, and they're seeing the impact in both enforcement and community safety.
At a joint news conference Monday, Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain described the cases investigators are uncovering as increasingly intertwined with organized crime.
"It is often connected to violent crime, gang activity, weapons offenses and human trafficking," he said.
Chamberlain explained that after restructuring APD's narcotics unit in recent years, the department has shifted from responding to cases one at a time to proactively targeting traffickers operating across jurisdictions.
"The goal is very simple. It is to disrupt and dismantle the supply of drugs and narcotics that are coming into our community," he said.
Federal agents say they're seeing the results of that shift firsthand. DEA Rocky Mountain Division Special Agent in Charge David Olesky said that in the last 15 months, the agency has assisted with at least 162 arrests in Aurora, including suspects linked to a cartel‑connected auto‑theft ring. He noted that fentanyl remains the city's most persistent threat.
"With more than 1.4 million fentanyl pills seized last year in the city, it is clear that we have more enforcement work to be done to deter this conduct," Olesky said.
APD also highlighted a department‑produced graphic that illustrates the volume of drugs seized across multiple investigations — including fentanyl pills, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. In comparing department data from 2024 to 2025, Chamberlain said APD has recorded a 197% increase in fentanyl seizures, more than 600% increase in heroin seizures, a nearly 930% spike in the seizure of meth and an almost 80% increase in drug arrests. << the graphic referred to is in WolfTech
"That is a huge change between '24, '25 and '26 because those drugs were still here in the City of Aurora. They just weren't being stopped," the chief said.
Despite those enforcement gains, Aurora police say overdose deaths remain one of their most urgent concerns. The department investigated 241 fatal overdoses in 2024 and has tracked 26 so far this year. Chamberlain shared one recent case that occurred just steps from police headquarters, underscoring the crisis facing many families in Aurora.
"Less than 200 yards from where we are talking today, a young man died of an overdose in a culvert, in an underpass," he said. "That is no way for anybody to live. It is no way for anybody to die."
Chamberlain said that's why both agencies view their partnership as more than an enforcement tool. He emphasized that the broader mission is to prevent deaths, reduce exploitation and protect the quality of life for people who call Aurora home.
"It's about reducing narcotics, it's about reducing trafficking, it's about saving lives and it's making Aurora a much safer community for people to live and to thrive in," he said.
