DENVER - Federal prosecutors charged 20 people in Colorado suspected of trafficking marijuana out of state.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Denver said Thursday 17 of the people charged have been arrested and three remain at-large.
Authorities say warrants conducted in the southern Colorado towns of Cotopaxi and Westcliffe led to the seizure of 1,000 marijuana plants, 50 pounds of dried marijuana, and 28 firearms. Sheriff offices in Custer and Freemont counties helped execute the warrants Tuesday.
Prosecutors say the investigation began after a traffic stop on May 2014. In October, authorities say they tracked two vehicles leaving Cotopaxi and seized 34 pounds of marijuana when they stopped them in Pennsylvania. Authorities say they also followed a vehicle to a Colorado Springs UPS store and found the suspects intended to ship marijuana to Florida.