http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4414198

Alleged cocaine operation doused at Aspen carwash


Aspen - Vehicles driving into an Aspen carwash and leaving without getting washed alerted drug agents to an alleged cocaine ring that was busted this week.

The 10-month investigation and subsequent bust netted six arrests, nearly a half kilogram of cocaine and $64,000.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Two Rivers Drug Enforcement Team identified Jose Jesus Sanchez-Ceja as the alleged regional ringleader of a cocaine-distribution network that supplied customers in Pitkin, Eagle and Garfield counties.

Sanchez-Ceja, who had been working in Aspen 13 years, was arrested Monday as he was preparing to leave town, according to Jeffrey Sweetin, special agent in charge of the DEA's Denver division.

Five other suspects with ties to Sanchez-Ceja were arrested, and 36 people were detainedin the sweep by Immigration and Customs Enforcement as undocumented aliens.

"Most of the cocaine transactions at the carwash were completed within minutes or even seconds. We observed that cars would arrive to the wash bays and sit without ever getting washed. For these 'regular' customers, cocaine or money could be transferred between supplier and customer with little more than a discreet handshake," Sweetin said.