Feb. 7—Two defendants took plea deals on Tuesday for their involvement in a Boulder County drug ring and kidnapping which led to sixteen people being indicted.

Jose Soto-Aviles, 30, and Hector Ruvalcaba, 33, both plead guilty to possession of a controlled substance — schedule 1 through 5, a Class 1 misdemeanor. In both cases, the defendants were sentenced to 18 months of probation, which was the stipulated sentence as part of the deals.

Both defendants had the Class 4 felony charge of possession of a controlled substance — schedules one through two, dismissed. Soto-Aviles also had two charges of possession of a controlled substance — schedules one through five dismissed.

The two were a part of a May indictment called, “Operation Blue Steal,”; a four-month-long investigation that resulted in the seizure of 30 pounds of suspected fentanyl worth about $500,000, 25 pounds of methamphetamine with a value of about $100,000, 2.5 pounds of heroin and 0.36 pounds of cocaine.

On Tuesday, Soto-Aviles’ defense lawyer Angela Campbell said she believes Soto-Aviles’ role in the operation was “a mistake” and was not a part of a larger pattern of drug use.

“I think this was truly a mistake,” Angela Campbell, Soto-Aviles’ defense lawyer said. “I have no doubt he will be successful on probation and so we’re asking the court to give him that opportunity.”

The 13 other individuals arrested since May 12 for their suspected involvement are Javier Alejandro Roque-Gomez, 28; Jose Guadalupe Polanco-Perez, 28; Jose Alfonso Diego-Alvarez, 20; Carlos Alfonso Ytuarte-Quinones, 35; Alexis Omar Gasga-Garcia, 24; Adan Alberto Quiriarte-Jaram, 29; Alan E Hernandez-Guzman, 30; Candelaria Ramirez-Ibarra, 36; Joana Villagrana-Ortiz, 35; Luis Ramirez-Molina; Ana Gonzalez; Lizandro Ruiz-Arreola; and Raul Arellano.

According to an indictment, members of the drug ring would buy narcotics in the Denver area before selling them in Boulder County, including locations in Longmont and Lafayette. Officials were able to use wiretaps and undercover operatives to get information on drug buys, burglaries and an attempted kidnapping and ransom plan.