SAN DIEGO and IMPERIAL, Calif. – With enthusiastic participation nationwide, DEA and its law enforcement partners have now collected nearly 12 million pounds of unused or expired prescription medications over the course of 17 successful DEA National Prescription Drug Take Back events. During the 17th semiannual event on April 27...

CALEXICO, Calif. – On May 1, 2019, Ezequiel Godinez-Cervantes was arrested at the Calexico Port of Entry on two warrants for violating the terms of supervised release. Godinez-Cervantes is a 77-year-old U.S. citizen. A warrant was issued for Godinez-Cervantes’ arrest in October 2018 by the U.S. District Court, Central District...

SAN DIEGO – With robust public participation over the course of 16 prior events, the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day Initiative continues to remove ever-higher amounts of opioids and other medicines from the nation’s homes, where they are vulnerable to misuse, theft or abuse by family members and visitors...

SAN DIEGO – Drug dealer Trevon Antone Lucas pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday, admitting that he sold pills containing fentanyl to a La Jolla man, causing his fatal overdose last year. Lucas, a resident of Highland, California, admitted in his plea agreement that he posted online advertisements for the...

SAN DIEGO – Three South American men were convicted by a federal jury late yesterday of trafficking approximately 1,230 kilograms (2,706 pounds) of cocaine worth more than $28 million on the high seas. The verdict came after a weeklong trial before U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez. “These traffickers attempted...

SAN DIEGO – April 7–13, 2019, is National Crime Victims’ Rights Week – a time for law enforcement, prosecutorial agencies, victim advocates and community members to come together and support victims of crime. Enforcing victim’s rights protects victims, enhances public safety and fosters public confidence in our criminal justice system...

SAN DIEGO – Three federal indictments unsealed in San Diego this week charge 20 people, including documented gang members and associates, with trafficking in oxycodone, methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana and ultra-deadly carfentanil from homes in City Heights, College Grove and Imperial Beach. One defendant, Dat Pham Tien Tran aka “Damian,” is...

SAN DIEGO – Former Major League Baseball All-Star pitcher Esteban Loaiza was sentenced in federal court on March 8, 2019 to 36 months in prison for knowingly and intentionally possessing 20 kilograms - about 44 pounds - of cocaine with intent to distribute. “Mr. Loaiza lived every young boy’s dream...

SAN DIEGO – A leader of the Westside Crips was sentenced to 82 months in prison on March 7, 2019 for his aggravating role in a racketeering conspiracy involving sex trafficking, narcotics trafficking and other violent crimes as well as possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute...

SAN DIEGO – Westside Crips gang member William McKinley Bright today became the last of 12 defendants to plead guilty, admitting that he participated in a racketeering conspiracy involving narcotics trafficking, sex trafficking and other violent crimes. Bright, aka “Slim,” admitted to his membership and association with the Westside Crips...