Grand Junction DEA agents work daily to interdict drug trafficking along I-70, US-6, and US-50, as well as to disrupt and arrest the local producers and consumers of illicit substances. The drugs most often abused by residents of Grand Junction are marijuana, methamphetamine, and prescription medications. There has also been a recent increase in synthetic drugs known as bath salts, K2, and Spice. Learning how to become a DEA agent requires prospective agents to plan ahead to ensure they are capable of meeting the minimum requirements.
DEA Jobs and Careers in Grand Junction
When filling out an application for jobs with the DEA, the agency asks prospective employees to be able to meet certain education, experience, and training requirements. These include being able to qualify under at least one of the following three pathways:
- Previous experience working in law and/or drug enforcement, including
- Surveillance and undercover operations
- Collection and preparation of evidence for presentation in court, in cooperation with the prosecutor
- Apprehension and arrest of suspects
- A bachelor degree with at least a 2.95 GPA, a master degree, or a law degree: LL.B or JD
- A bachelor degree with related coursework and at least three years of experience in a strategic subject area, including:
- Military
- Pilot’s or maritime captain’s license
- Auditing
- Engineering
- Accounting
- Foreign languages
- Telecommunications
- IT and IS
Education in Strategic Fields
The State of Colorado has over a dozen public, private, and online educational institutions offering BA, MA, LL.B, and JD degrees in strategic fields. Jobs and careers with the DEA start with intelligent planning for the future, and it is never too late to find out more information.
DEA Operations in Grand Junction
Undercover DEA agents arranged to by 15 pounds of ice methamphetamine from siblings in Grand Junction in a sting operation that ultimately netted three suspects and12.5 pounds of enriched meth. Agents found some of the drugs to be hidden in a child’s pencil box, and the State took custody of a three-year-old child brought with the suspects to the drug deal. Agents noted the operation captured drugs that were intended for distribution at the local level.
The DEA’s Western Colorado Drug Task Force concluded a one-year investigation with the indictment of 11 suspects in the Grand Junction area on charges relating to their involvement in an alleged cocaine trafficking ring – a “cocaine highway,” according to investigators – that saw the smuggling of the drug across the border into Arizona and then up to Grand Junction. Agents seized 2.5 kilos of cocaine and $50,000 during the operation.
The DEA recently announced the classification of certain compounds found in synthetic drugs known as Spice, K2, and Blaze as now being listed as controlled one substances. This means they are illegal with no medicinal value, and can no longer be sold in Grand Junction stores or anywhere else in the United States. A DEA agent in the city described the drugs as synthetic marijuana that is tailored to young people, a statement substantiated by a Grand Junction high school student. Now any person found to be in association with the designer drugs may face jail time, fines, or both.