Fourteen people have been arrested in connection with distributing cocaine on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and beyond, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office. Agents also seized five kilograms of cocaine, and $65,000.
The month-long investigation, which originated with BIA Division of Drug Enforcement agents, uncovered an alleged drug trafficking network responsible for transporting cocaine from the Denver metropolitan area into Rapid City and Pine Ridge.
The coordinated enforcement operation was conducted in partnership with members of the Badlands Safe Trails Task Force, which includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, United States Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota, and Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. The investigation also included the Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, South Dakota National Guard Counter Drug Unit, South Dakota Highway Patrol, and Rapid City Police Department.
In June 2026, agents traveled to Colorado to execute multiple federal enforcement actions against individuals identified as supplying cocaine to the South Dakota region.
The investigation continued throughout the summer, leading to additional coordinated enforcement actions on July 21-22 targeting eight individuals believed to have played significant roles in cocaine distribution in Rapid City and on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Billy Kirkland said the successful operation is a testament to the collaboration among law enforcement agencies.
“This investigation demonstrates what can be accomplished when tribal, federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies work together toward a common mission,” Kirkland said in a press release.
