By Owen Houtakker
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Via- Wyoming News Exchange

CHEYENNE — Friday morning, the local U.S. Attorney’s Office held a press conference alongside both federal and local law enforcement to announce the bust of a methamphetamine ring that spanned multiple counties in Wyoming and Colorado.

Darin Smith, U.S. Attorney for the District of Wyoming, began the press conference by touting President Donald Trump and his Justice Department’s initiative titled Operation Take Back America.

“Law enforcement has really been empowered at every level to go after bad actors and make our community safer,” Smith said. 

The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation worked in collaboration with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, Wyoming Highway Patrol, Carbon County Sheriff’s Department and the Rawlins Police Department to put a stop to the drug operation.

Smith stressed how important the collaboration between agencies was to accomplish this mission and dismantle the multi-jurisdiction drug ring.

Through the investigation, agents identified Denny Jason Shrove of Rawlins as the lead distributor. Shrove was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison on Sept. 14, along with six other co-conspirators, who all received between eight and 12 years behind bars.

Thirty other co-conspirators were charged in state court on charges relating to drug trafficking and distribution.

The investigation determined that Shrove was responsible for distributing at least 23 pounds of methamphetamine in Wyoming. It also determined that drugs were shipped to five Wyoming counties — Natrona, Carbon, Campbell, Laramie and Albany — and that members would make weekly runs from Colorado to Wyoming to distribute drugs.

Smith concluded by sending a message to others who may be distributing drugs in the state of Wyoming.

“If you’re out there and you’re a drug dealer and you’re delivering drugs into our state, and you’re poisoning our kids, or you’re out there committing violent crime, we’re coming for you,” he said.

Ryan Cox, the commander of Wyoming DCI, highlighted the interagency partnership that was required for this operation to be as successful as it was.

“An operation of this scale succeeds only through cooperation,” Cox said. “This was a true team effort.”

Mark Putnam, special agent in charge for the DEA’s Rocky Mountain Division, echoed Cox’s sentiment and underscored the DEA’s commitment to supporting state and local law enforcement to ensure communities are safe.

Cox also emphasized that the goal when the investigation began was to go after the distributors to ensure the flow of drugs to Wyoming communities would be stopped.

When asked why collaboration was so critical to ensure this operation was successful, Smith explained that in many states, agencies become territorial and compete with each other, while the opposite is true in Wyoming.

“We don’t have any of that here,” he said. “We just have good lawmen and women that want to go after the bad guys.”

Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken emphasized how much of a dent this operation will put in the flow of drugs to local counties.

“This size of an operation certainly makes a very significant stem in that flow of narcotics,” Bakken said.

In 2025, more than 8.7 million fentanyl pills were seized in Wyoming, compared to 5 million in 2024; 3,045 pounds of methamphetamine was seized, compared to 2,628 pounds in 2024; and more than 500 pounds of cocaine was seized, compared to just under 450 pounds in 2024.

Overall, Smith hopes the large federal sentences handed down act as a deterrent, and that this will throttle down the supply of drugs and make Wyoming communities safer.

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