COLUMBIA, S.C. – Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Atlanta Division announced that the DEA Columbia is partnering with national, state, local, and tribal law enforcement officials, as well as community coalition groups, during its 16th National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. The...

PHILADELPHIA -- Jon Wilson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Philadelphia Field Division, announces the release of The Opioid Threat in Pennsylvania, a comprehensive assessment of the Commonwealth’s opioid crisis achieved through the collection and analysis of supply and demand indicators, as well as county level...

MEDIA ADVISORY PHILADELPHIA – Jon Wilson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Philadelphia Field Division, announced today that 5,456 drug-related overdose deaths [1] were reported by coroners and medical examiners in Pennsylvania for 2017. This number represents a rate of 42 deaths per 100,000 people and a...

MEDIA ADVISORY DEA ANNOUNCES 5,456 DRUG-RELATED OVERDOSE DEATHS IN PENNSYLVANIA IN 2017 Contact: Supervisory Special Agent Patrick J. Trainor, Public Information Officer, (215) 852-8740 (PHILADELPHIA) – Jon Wilson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Philadelphia Division, announced today that 5,456 drug-related overdose deaths [1] were reported...

MACON, Ga. – United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, Charles E. Peeler, announces that Delma Goddard, a/k/a “Shug” and “Big Hxmie” age 38, of Milledgeville, Georgia, was found guilty by a jury of his peers of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 280 Grams...

ATLANTA – Ricardo Silva, a current inmate at Smith State Prison and a high-ranking member of the Sureños prison gang, has been sentenced to 35 years in federal prison for trafficking methamphetamine. He is currently serving a sentence with the state of Georgia for trafficking cocaine. “The mission of DEA...

SAVANNAH, GA - The United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia entered a default judgment against Dr. Firoz Patka, of Martinez, Georgia, totaling $1.2 million. In May 2017, the United States filed a complaint against Dr. Patka for violations of the Controlled Substances Act based on his...

Rome, Ga. – Barry Shedd has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute at least 50 grams of methamphetamine less than two months after his release from state custody. “The amount of prison time Shedd received correctly reflects the continuous criminal activities...

(SAVANNAH, Ga.) – Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Secretary Alex M. Azar III, announced today the largest ever health care fraud enforcement action involving 601 charged defendants across 58 federal districts, including 165 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged...

(ATLANTA) – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, in partnership with the Atlanta-Carolinas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Program, has released an opioid public service announcement that reminds Georgians that the opioid epidemic demands the urgent attention of everyone in our community. “Fighting this epidemic...