WICHITA, Kans. – The Drug Enforcement Administration Wichita Resident Office announced today the launch of Operation Engage, a new comprehensive law enforcement and prevention initiative aimed at reducing drug use, abuse, and overdose deaths. Operation Engage allows participating DEA divisions to focus on the biggest drug threat and resulting violence...

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr. sentenced Keith Estep to 120 months in prison today. The 42-year-old House Springs, Missouri, resident pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession with the intent...

OMAHA, Neb. – The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is warning the public of a widespread fraud scheme in which telephone scammers impersonate DEA agents in an attempt to extort money or steal personal identifiable information. A new public service announcement aims to raise awareness that DEA will never call demanding...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Eight defendants have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a $4.1 million conspiracy to distribute more than 520 kilograms of methamphetamine. Tina Marie Bailey, 36, and Martin Lee Williams, 58, both of Kansas City, Mo.; Mark Williams Hildebrand II, 31, and...

OMAHA, Neb. – Recognizing an increase in opioid overdose deaths during the pandemic, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced its 20th Take Back Day scheduled for Saturday, April 24. DEA collected a record-high amount of expired, unwanted and unused prescription medications during the last Take Back Day in October, with...

ST. LOUIS – Maurice Woodson, 34, of St. Louis, Missouri, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine; one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime resulting in death; and one count of witness tampering. Woodson appeared today before U.S. District Judge Henry...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Missouri, man has pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally possessing methamphetamine and a firearm. Michael Allen Dicks, Jr., 31, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips on Tuesday, Feb. 23, to one count of possessing methamphetamine to distribute and one...

ST. LOUIS – In a complaint filed February 23, 2021, by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, the government alleges Elizabeth Dembo unlawfully dispensed controlled substances to patients during her time as the pharmacist-in-charge of Olive Street Pharmacy, LLC. The retail pharmacy is located in the...

OMAHA, Neb. – Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigators took an estimated $2.8 million worth of methamphetamine and marijuana off the streets of Iowa in 2020 and reported an increase in cocaine and fentanyl seizures. Agents from DEA offices in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Sioux City and the Quad Cities removed...

OMAHA, Neb. – Marijuana and methamphetamine were the top two drugs seized by Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigators in Nebraska in 2020, with 2.5 kilograms of fentanyl, or the equivalent of one-and-a-half million lethal doses, also making its presence known across the state. Methamphetamine seizures jumped 68 percent in 2020...