Denver is the location of the DEA’s main Division Office, responsible for an area encompassing the states of Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. Agents based out of this office are also responsible for operations in the Denver metro and the surrounding areas, where they face drug problems related to gangs, urban population use, trafficking organizations, as well as rural production and abuse. DEA jobs based out of Denver are filled by the most qualified and capable agents who are dedicated to improving the safety of their city by keeping dangerous illegal drugs off streets and out homes.
Denver Busts
DEA agents participating in the Denver Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force recently dismantled a drug trafficking ring that saw suspects using secret compartments in vehicles to smuggle drugs from California to Denver for distribution throughout the region. Four men were arrested in California, along with six in Colorado, and agents seized about 55 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $750,000.
DEA agents working in cooperation with West Metro Drug Task Force busted a drug ring responsible for bringing $36 million-per-year worth of marijuana to Colorado after an investigation lasting more than a year. 23 suspects were indicted for a scheme using buses from Mexico to smuggle the drug up through El Paso to a warehouse in the Denver suburb Commerce City. Agents seized an AK-47, $30,000 cash, 11,000 pounds of marijuana, as well as cocaine and methamphetamine throughout the course of the investigation.
The Denver Metro Gang Task Force in conjunction with DEA agents and other law enforcement agencies recently conducted the largest mass drug arrest in Colorado history in an operation involving 500 officers and agents that took down four cocaine distribution rings along with 80 suspects, a kilogram of crack, a pound of methamphetamine, 11 weapons, over 26 kilograms of cocaine, and over $415,000 in cash. The investigation started in 2009 after a gang robbed over a dozen banks.
Denver DEA Jobs and Careers
One of the requirements for how to become a DEA agent stipulates that prospective agents must meet either education, experience, and/or training prerequisites with one of the following:
- Experience with drug or law enforcement including:
- Working with prosecutors to organize evidence
- Arrest and apprehension of suspects
- Participation in undercover and surveillance operations
- A bachelor degree with three years of experience and coursework in a strategically significant field, such as:
- Military
- Pilot’s or maritime captain’s license
- Engineering
- Foreign languages:
- Russian
- Balkan languages
- Spanish
- Chinese
- Nigerian dialects
- Accounting
- Telecommunications
- IT
- Information systems
Qualifying Through Education
Meeting the education requirements is one way to qualify for DEA jobs and careers. Colorado has at least a dozen public universities and additional private and online education institutions offering bachelor, master, and doctorate degrees in strategic fields of study. There are several sources of additional information for those considering DEA jobs:
- DEA recruiters
- School counselors
- Internet resources