SPOKANE, Wash. – On March 3, 2026, the Drug Enforcement Administration executed federal search warrants at multiple locations in the Tri-Cities, Washington area that resulted in the largest seizure of controlled substances in EDWA history. The federal search warrants were based on an ongoing drug trafficking investigation into Amador Sanchez...

SEATTLE – One of two brothers from Mexico, who were both caught with a total of more than 30 pounds of fentanyl powder and pills and a kilo of heroin, was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 42 months in prison. Benito Perez Aguilar, 29, of Kent...

Spokane, Wash. –United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice has sentenced Nicholas Adams, 37, of Spokane, Washington to a 20 year term of incarceration, to be followed by 10 years of court supervision upon his release stemming from his role in running a commercial pill press operation out of his...

A Mexican national who was in the country illegally has pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen. According to court documents, Mercado-Chaparro sold a pound of methamphetamine to an undercover police officer. Police followed Mercado-Chaparro after the buy and saw him...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Eduardo Valenzuela Lopez, 33, of Cajeme, Sonora, Mexico, and Jael Gonzalez Banuelos, 22, of Phoenix, Arizona, were arrested on the morning of Feb. 24, 2026, by members of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for conspiring to distribute fentanyl. Valenzuela Lopez and Gonzalez Banuelos were charged by criminal...

TALLAHASSEE, FL. – Robert “Bobby” Shane Willis, 46, of Perry, FL., pleaded guilty in federal court to distribution of 5 grams or more of methamphetamine, with a sentencing enhancement due to a prior conviction for a serious drug felony. The plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney...

PENSACOLA, FL. – Timothy Lamar McGee, 43, of Pensacola, FL., was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, tetrahydrocannabinol, and marijuana, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. The...

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – Khalil Keari Barnett, 30, of Gainesville pleaded guilty in federal court to possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession of firearm in connection with drug trafficking, and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition. The plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A Kodiak man was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to distribute deadly drugs that resulted in a fatal overdose in August 2022. While on pretrial release for state felony charges he committed in March 2022, Gerry Pugal, 38, agreed...

INDIANAPOLIS - Ten defendants have been sentenced in federal court for their roles in a multi-county fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking operation spanning Indianapolis, Muncie, Terre Haute, and other areas throughout the Southern District of Indiana. Defendant Charge(s) Sentence Joshua Kendall, 44, of Indianapolis Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances 33...