PUEBLO, Colo. — A year-long investigation conducted by the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration discovered a major drug trafficking operation with ties to Mexico.

Benito Granado-Valenzuela, 46, and Aleyda Lopez, 33, were arrested on May 19 after police found cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine in a home in the 2100 block or East Ninth Street.

Granado-Valenzuela, a Mexican citizen, has been deported several times and is currently in the United States illegally. Lopez has an address in Arizona.

Detectives from the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Narcotics division started investigating Granado-Valenzuela’s ties to the drug-trafficking operation over a year ago and requested help from the DEA with the investigation as part of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program.

The arrest of both individuals came after detectives learned Lopez was on the way to Pueblo from Arizona with a supply of illegal drugs that were to be delivered to Granado-Valenzuela at the home on East Ninth Street, police said.

Investigators executed a search warrant once Lopez arrived at the home and found two pounds of methamphetamine, 8 ounces of cocaine and 10 ounces of heroin hidden inside a bag of dog food at the residence.

Police said the drugs seized on May 19 were the third shipment in a span of 8 months that authorities intercepted from couriers traveling along the I-25 to deliver to Granado-Valenzuela.

Two similar traffic stops along the I-25 in September and October of 2015 led to the discovery of methamphetamine in vehicles to be delivered to Granado-Valenzuela in Pueblo. The first traffic stop unearthed 12 pounds of methamphetamine in the lining of a car seat. The second traffic stop led investigators to 8 pounds of methamphetamine wrapped in 15 plastic packages in the gas tank of the vehicle.

Granado-Valenzuela was arrested on charges of possession of a Schedule II controlled substance and three counts of conspiracy to distribute a Schedule II controlled substance.

Lopez was arrested on a charge of possession of a controlled substance.

Since September 2015, investigators have seized 21 pounds of methamphetamine, 8 ounces of cocaine, 10 ounces of heroin, nearly $21,000 in cash and a handgun during three separate drug busts related to a trafficking operation originating in Mexico and traveling through several states.

All photos courtesy Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office