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DEA announces tip line and $5 million reward for info on “drug kingpin” operating in Colorado

Jesus Gonzalez- Penuelas
DEA
Jesus Gonzalez- Penuelas

DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Rocky Mountain Field Division has joined the U.S. Department of State to announce a reward offer of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Mexican national Jesus Gonzalez-Penuelas, also known as “Chuy” Gonzalez.

In addition to the reward announcement, the DEA is announcing a new tip line specific to information related to Gonzalez and his associates. The tip line can be accessed by calling/texting/WhatsApp at 720 355-0168 or by emailing Chuy-Reward@dea.gov.

Identities are kept strictly confidential, the DEA said.

According to the agency, Gonzalez’s drug production and trafficking organization is based in northern Sinaloa, Mexico, and has been a prominent source for heroin distribution throughout Colorado. He was identified by the DEA as a primary supplier of heroin in the western United States over a decade ago just as Colorado experienced a spike in heroin-related overdose deaths.

The DEA said Colorado specifically saw heroin-related overdose deaths nearly double between 2013 and 2016.

According to the DEA, Gonzalez is a 54-year-old Mexican national with black hair and brown eyes. He is believed to be operating in northern Sinaloa, Mexico. Additional information about Gonzalez can be found on the DEA website at  Jesus Gonzalez-Penuelas (dea.gov)

The DEA said Gonzalez was designated a Significant Foreign Narcotics Trafficker  in May 2021 by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act for his role in fueling the opioid epidemic in the United States.    

Information about the $5 million reward can be found on the U.S. Department of State website.

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Tyler Dumas

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