ATLANTA – Georgians participating in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s 17th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day Initiative held on Saturday, April 27, 2019, turned in 11,114 pounds of unwanted or expired medications for safe and proper disposal at sites set up throughout the state. The amount collected was the...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – United States Attorney Andrew Murray announced today that law enforcement have dismantled a drug ring operating in Asheville, charging eight of its members with drug conspiracy and drug and firearm-related offenses. The 35-count criminal indictment was returned by the federal grand jury on April 2, 2019, and...

HONOLULU – The United States Drug Enforcement Administration in Honolulu urges its DEA-registered practitioners to be cautious of telephone calls from criminals posing as DEA agents or other law enforcement personnel demanding the practitioner provide their DEA-registrant number and other practitioner-related sensitive information over the telephone. Most recently, the DEA...

AUGUSTA, GA -- A Waynesboro pharmacist is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to illegally obtaining opioids for his own use. Wilton Clinton “Clint” Meeks III, 55, of Waynesboro, Ga., pled guilty on Tuesday, March 19, 2019, to acquiring a controlled substance by misrepresentation, deception, or subterfuge, said Bobby L. Christine...

SAVANNAH, GA -- 17 additional defendants indicted on drug trafficking and firearms charges as part of Operation Vanilla Gorilla have pled guilty in federal court, bringing to 33 the total number of guilty pleas only months after charges were filed. Operation Vanilla Gorilla, an investigation by the Organized Crime Drug...

SAVANNAH, Ga. - A multi-agency operation in the Southern District of Georgia is receiving national recognition for dismantling a major drug trafficking organization whose methods included delivering contraband to prisons with drones and using funding from a lottery winner. The Southern District’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force received the...

SAVANNAH, Ga: Two people are facing substantial prison sentences and fines after pleading guilty to federal heroin trafficking charges. Gary Johnson , a/k/a “G,” 44, and Jamison Lanier , a/k/a “Monica Lewinsky,” 36, both of Savannah, have each pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and Conspiracy...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Today, U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced Linda Liceth Prada-Ardilla, 29, a Colombian national residing in Asheville, N.C., to 135 months in prison and five years of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced United States Drug Enforcement Administration Atlanta Field Division Special Agent...

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Three people, including two medical professionals, are among defendants recently prosecuted in federal court as part of continued efforts to crack down on opioid abuse. Lisa Marie Douthit, 42, a pharmacy technician at a Walgreen’s in Bryan County, was sentenced to three months in prison by U.S...

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Sixteen of the defendants indicted on drug trafficking and firearms charges as part of Operation Vanilla Gorilla have pled guilty in federal court, including the lead defendant in the gang. Operation Vanilla Gorilla targeted the notorious Ghost Face Gangsters, a violent criminal street gang largely operated from...