The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday unsealed a 30-count indictment alleging drug trafficking, firearms offenses and a murder-for-hire scheme against 30 people tied to the Venezuelan street gang Tren de Aragua. Federal officials described the case as the largest U.S. investigation to date into the transnational organization, which they say has expanded its operations well beyond Latin America. The 10-month probe began in October 2024 after a spike in violence at Aurora’s Ivy Crossing apartment complex. Working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, undercover agents conducted about 40 controlled purchases, ultimately seizing 69 firearms and several pounds of narcotics, including the synthetic drug known as “tusi” or pink cocaine. Investigators also uncovered a plot in which several suspects allegedly agreed to kill two people for $15,000, with additional payment offered for delivering the victims’ severed heads. Three alleged TdA leaders are among those charged. Two of them—Luis Fernando Uribe-Torrealba and Luis Henriquez Charaima—were arrested recently in Medellín with assistance from Colombian authorities and await extradition. Twenty-four defendants are already in U.S. custody. “TDA is real, it is dangerous, and we have made prosecuting it a priority in the District of Colorado,” U.S. Attorney Peter McNeilly said, adding that the arrests have led to a 75% drop in police calls at the complex where the investigation began.