COLORADO SPRINGS — Colorado Springs Police have arrested Brian and Steven Yi on felony charges for allegedly selling fentanyl pills, cocaine, THC gummies, marijuana, and assorted pills at a Colorado liquor store.
According to police, detectives were able to make several undercover purchases from the location on N Academy near the intersection of Austin Bluffs Drive. Those buys took place in May.
This Monday, members of the Armed Violent Offender Unit arrested the brothers at the location on felony drug and conspiracy charges.
There's no information available yet on whether additional suspects could face charges in this investigation. The liquor license for the business is not in the name of the brother but the owner has the same last name, according to state records.
Items seized in the release include:
- $36,000 in cash
- 2,000 fentanyl pills
- 2.36 lbs cocaine
- 1.55 lbs THC gummies
- 2.14 lbs marijuana
- 14.6 grams Xanex
- 11.3 grams oxycodone pills
- 3 handguns
- 1 semiautomatic rifle
In a release, CSPD Chief Adrian Vasquez stated “Greed is what drives the drug business, not a lack of knowledge about the dangers of fentanyl. This is where criminal laws must step in and hold people accountable. While I am immensely proud of the work of our officers and detectives, they can only work within the laws that are written by the legislature. This is a community problem that will require a community response to fix.”
He added that recent legislation from the Colorado General Assembly "fails to understand how and why suspects are distributing fentanyl in our community."
The Fentanyl Accountability and Prevention Bill was signed by Governor Polis in May. Opponents raised concerns about a provision that allowed people to claim they did not know they possessed fentanyl, which was taken out of the final measure.
This story was originally published by KOAA in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
