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BOULDER -- Followers of a violent cult similar to the one involved in human sacrifices in Mexico could follow drug routes into Colorado, a Boulder police detective said yesterday.

Believers in Palo Mayombe, a violent offshoot of the religion Santeria, are circulating in the Cuban community, particularly in Florida, said Detective Lt. Jerry Hoover, who studies Santeria and Satanism as part of his doctorate work in anthropology.

Santerians already are in Colorado, and Boulder police last summer found an altar inside a home during a cocaine bust and a feather "offering" on the steps of a church.

Hoover also said he's seen evidence of increased Santerias and satanic activity in the Boulder area.

In addition, police recently discovered a stone structure in the foothills area that could have been used by satanic cultists.

Although Hoover said he was unaware of any believers of Palo Mayombe in the state, he said the possibility couldn't be excluded.

"I haven't seen evidence they're around here and I don't know if anyone else has, but we do have a cocaine line into Colorado, and we could see these people come in with it," Hoover said.

Authorities this week uncovered 18 bodies on an isolated ranch in Mexico. The victims were killed by drug smugglers who believed human sacrifices would protect them from arrest or harm.

After watching television videotapes of the grisly killing site and speaking with knowledgeable sources, Hoover said he's certain the macabre slayings were the work of believers in Palo Mayombe and not Santeria.

Santeria, which combine elements of Roman Catholicism and west African religions, originated in the West Indies and Cuba during the days of slave trading, Hoover said.

Ritualistic sacrifices or offerings of animals or animal parts are one aspect of the religion, Hoover said. Believers in Santeria moved into Boulder and Colorado, he said, with the movement of the drug trade.

But followers of Palo Mayombe, which is "loosely related to Santeria," are far more dangerous, Hoover said.

"They shoot people just for crossing them," he said.

Santerians "take offense" at the practices of Palo Mayombe, he said.

Last summer, Boulder police raided a suspected cocaine dealer's home. During their search, they found a hidden altar and evidence of animal sacrifices, Hoover said. Later, police were called to a local church after a form of animal offering was discovered on the building steps, he said.

Then last fall, police learned small amounts of dirt had been removed from several gravesites in a cemetery. Dirt from graves sometimes is used in ritualistic ceremonies, he said.

Recently, police found a stone structure in the foothills near Boulder.

Stones for the structure had been carried to the site and "glued down," Hoover said. "Someone said it's an altar, but we're not sure about that.