GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - Between Oct. 26 and Nov. 9, 2015, four more individuals involved in an extensive a-(alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone) distribution conspiracy centered in northeast Tennessee, southwest Virginia and western North Carolina, were sentenced to serve time in federal prison by the Honorable Pamela L. Reeves, U.S. District Court Judge. Melissa Carol...

PHILADELPHIA - Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle of the Drug Enforcement Administration’(DEA) Philadelphia Field Division announced today that Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania will be the first city in the nation where the DEA will implement a new comprehensive strategy to address prescription opioid abuse, heroin use, and violent crime. A news...

STATESVILLE, N.C. - A federal jury sitting in Statesville delivered a guilty verdict against Eduardo Trejo-Munoz, a/k/a “Lalo,” 23, of Hickory, N.C., for trafficking high purity crystal methamphetamine worth over $5 million, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Following a two-day trial which...

PHILADELPHIA - Special Agent in (SAC) Gary Tuggle of the DEA Philadelphia Field Division was invited to speak with undergraduate students enrolled in a Comparative Politics course at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. These students have elected to spend their semester learning about the war on drugs and alternative approaches...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Chief U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney sentenced Alberto Gasca, 31, of Los Angeles, California, to serve 128 months in prison and five years of supervised release on drug trafficking charges, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Gasca pleaded guilty...

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - Joshua Brandon Hinkle, 30, of Chuckey, Tenn., was sentenced on Oct. 20, 2015, by the Honorable R. Leon Jordan, U.S. District Court Judge, to serve 110 months in federal prison for his role in an extensive a-(alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone) distribution conspiracy centered in northeast Tennessee, southwest Virginia and western...

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Heather Morgan, 28, of Maryville, Tenn., was sentenced to serve 18 months in federal prison by the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, Chief U.S. District Judge on Oct. 13. Upon her release from prison, Morgan will serve a two year period of supervised release. Morgan pleaded guilty to...

PHILADELPHIA - Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle announced today that the Jim Thorpe Police (JTPD) and the Lehighton Borough Police (LBPD) requested the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration’(DEA) Allentown Resident Office with an operation that targeted heroin traffickers operating in Jim Thorpe. On September 26th and September 28th...

PHILADELPHIA - Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle of the Drug Enforcement Administration’(DEA) Philadelphia Field Division would like to invite members of the media to the DEA Pittsburgh District Office on Thursday, October 15th between 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. The DEA office is located at 1781 McKees Rocks Road...

PHILADELPHIA - On October 7, 2015, the DEA Philadelphia Field Division participated in a town hall meeting at the Haverford Township Free Library to educate the residents about the dangers of prescription drug and heroin abuse. During the meeting, which was attended by over 60 residents from the community, Diversion...