Two brothers arrested, accused of selling fentanyl out of Colorado Springs liquor store
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Police announced Wednesday that they arrested a pair of brothers Monday during a raid on a liquor store that netted fentanyl and other illegal drugs, cash and weapons.
Police said that they received a tip In May, that fentanyl pills were being sold by armed suspects at Austin Bluffs Plaza Liquors, located on Academy Boulevard just north of Austin Bluffs Parkway.
Undercover detectives purchased pills from the brothers, police said, and on Monday detectives with the Armed Violent Offender Unit (AVOU) and patrol officers executed a search warrant at the liquor store.
According to police, investigators uncovered $36,100 in cash, 2,000 fentanyl pills, 2.36 lbs. of cocaine, 1.55 lbs. of THC gummies, 2.14 lbs. of marijuana, 14.6 grams of Zanex pills, and 11.3 grams of oxycodone pills.
Three handguns and one assault rifle were also recovered during the search.
During that search, officers arrested Brian Yi, 40 (shown below right), and his brother, Steve Yi, 44.
Both suspects face the charges of Special Offender, Level One Drug Felony, Unlawful Distribution, Level Two Drug Felony, and Conspiracy, Class Six Felony.
Police Lt. Pamela Castro said that the brothers' relationship to the store is unclear.
"I don't know if it was family-owned, or the exact name on the liquor license," she said. "But they were involved with the ownership of the business."
The store was open Wednesday and did a brisk business before closing early ; one customer said that the brothers are sons of the actual owners, and that those owners likely were unaware of the illegal activity.
KRDO NewsChannel 13 entered the store while it was open and saw who appeared to be Steve Yi working as cashier; he declined comment.
Many customers said they were unaware and hadn't heard any rumors about the alleged drug sales.
"I come here to a card shop and get my kid cards here, literally right beside a liquor store, completely blows my mind that he's been right beside pretty much a drug house," said Zach Elledge.
Below is a statement from Chief Adrian Vasquez regarding the investigation:
This is just another example of how the recent fentanyl legislation fails to understand how and why suspects are distributing fentanyl in our community. Individuals selling this drug are doing so out of greed and a lack of care for our community members. This is exemplified in this case where you could buy legal alcohol and illegal drugs at the same counter at the same time. 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.
Colorado Springs Chief of Police Adrian Vasquez
