ATLANTA – Dr. Arnita Avery-Kelly, a licensed podiatrist, has been found guilty on federal charges of illegally prescribing opioid painkillers and other drugs at clinic locations purporting to provide podiatric care in Sandy Springs and Lithonia, Ga. “While in the midst of this country’s prescription opioid crisis, removing and ultimately...

ATLANTA – Yadira Gomez-Gonzalez has been sentenced for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Gomez-Gonzalez is the last of three defendants whose drug ring was infiltrated by undercover DEA agents when they attempted to send nearly 14 kilograms of 100 percent pure methamphetamine from California to Georgia...

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Five men and a woman have been indicted in federal court, charged with operating a wide-ranging drug conspiracy that included mass production of pills and possession with intent to distribute a powerful synthetic opioid. As outlined in the six-count indictment in U.S. District Court and from testimony...

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Renewed action to scrutinize shipments into the growing Port of Savannah have led to significant recent drug seizures, including two arrests and more than 20 kilos of cocaine seized in a weekend raid at an Augusta warehouse. Jimmy Alexander Pujols, 35, and Fausto Mendez Ramos, 40, are...

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler announced today the arrest of Kalib Scott Powell, 25, of Evansville, Ind., for the distribution of a Schedule I controlled substance (fentanyl), resulting in death. The arrest is the result of the investigation into the fentanyl-based overdose death of Jacilynn Holifield...

CHICAGO — A high-level member of the Four Corner Hustlers street gang has been arrested on federal drug charges for allegedly selling wholesale quantities of heroin on the West Side of Chicago. Raymond Betts, 52, of Riverdale, is charged with conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with the intent to...

CHICAGO — The former owner of a Chicago medical clinic was sentenced today to more than six years in federal prison for selling opioid prescriptions to patients whom he knew lacked a legitimate medical need for the drugs. MOHAMMED SHARIFF, who owned Midtown Medical Center in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood, conspired...

SAVANNAH, Ga. The lead defendant in a Statesboro drug trafficking conspiracy has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. Natividad Dias , a/k/a “Nat,” “Nate,” “Amigo” or “Huevos,” 46, a Mexican national who lived in Sylvania, Ga., was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison by Chief U.S. District...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Stanford Wylie, age 51, of Palisades Park, NJ, was sentenced before United States District Court Judge Robert L. Miller upon his plea of guilty to possession with the intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine, announced United States Drug Enforcement Administration Chicago Division Special...

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Andrew L. Fitch, 32 years old, of Angola, Indiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Holly A. Brady after pleading guilty to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced United States Drug Enforcement Administration Chicago Division Special Agent in Charge Brian M. McKnight and...