Washington, D.C. – Today the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) launched a new comprehensive law enforcement and prevention initiative through the DEA Washington Division, aimed at reducing drug use, abuse, and overdose deaths. “Operation Engage” allows participating field divisions to focus on the biggest drug threat and resulting violence...

Alexandria, Va. – An Arlington man was sentenced today to 151 months in prison for participating in a conspiracy to distribute over seven kilograms of fentanyl. According to court documents, Cornelius Frazier, 32, and others would press illicit pills containing fentanyl, among other substances, to resemble prescription pills such as...

Baltimore, Md. – U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher today sentenced Joseph Speed, age 28, of Baltimore, Maryland, to seven years in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, after Speed pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of...

BALTIMORE, Md. – Thomas Parker III, aka “June,” age 52, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty yesterday to federal charges related to his participation in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and powder and crack cocaine. Eight co-defendants previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the drug conspiracy. The guilty plea...

GREENBELT, Md. – A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging Andrew Joseph Trimmer, aka “D” and “Smoke”, age 32, and Alicia Marie Walls, aka “Porsha” and “Alicia Porsha,” age 28, both of Bowie, Maryland, on federal charges related to a fentanyl distribution conspiracy. The superseding indictment adds Walls...

Washington, D.C. – As part of a long-standing tradition, the DEA Washington Division will take the month of February to honor the contributions and history of our African American community. National African American History Month is a time to celebrate our rich diversity. It is also a time to reflect...

ROANOKE, Va. -- Ana Bella Sanchez-Rios, the former owner and operator of a Martinsville business used to launder more than $4.3 million in profits for an international drug cartel, was sentenced last week in U.S. District Court to 96 months in federal prison. Sanchez-Rios laundered the funds for the Jalisco...

Harrisonburg, Va. – Two of the five defendants charged as part of a conspiracy that trafficked heroin from Maryland to Virginia leading to at least one fatal and one non-fatal overdose were sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Harrisonburg, Special Agent in Charge Jarod A. Forget of the Drug...

ALEXANDRIA, Va., – A Florida man pleaded guilty today to unlawfully distributing thousands of prescription opioid pills in exchange for over half a million dollars through the “dark web.” According to court documents, between 2012 and 2020, Daren James Reid, 35, of Fort Lauderdale, used the dark web to distribute...

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The mastermind behind an extensive drug trafficking ring entered a guilty plea this week, and four other defendants either entered pleas or were sentenced recently to substantial terms in prison for distributing large amounts of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine in Newport News and North Carolina. “This...