PORTLAND, Ore.—The leader of a Salem-area drug distribution network was sentenced on March 11, 2020, to federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine in and around Salem, Oregon. Isaias Alvarado, 38, a Mexican citizen residing in Salem, was sentenced to 120 months in federal...

SEATTLE – A Bothell, Washington, man is charged in an eight-count complaint for operating an illegal money exchange business involving bitcoin. Kenneth Warren Rhule, 26, made his initial appearance on the criminal complaint in U.S. District Court in Seattle on March 10, 2020. Rhule is charged with conducting an unlicensed...

DENVER – The Justice Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration today announced the results of Project Python, a DEA-led multilateral interagency operation encompassing all global investigations and related disruption activities targeting the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) . This announcement marks the successful conclusion of six months of investigative...

SEATTLE - The head of a drug distribution ring who was convicted at trial of drug and gun crimes was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to15 years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran. Rhett Irons, 41, of Lynnwood, Washington was convicted on December 12, 2019...

DENVER – United States Attorney Jason R. Dunn announced that Huanyu Yan, 54, and wife You Lan Xiang, 50, both of Aurora, Colo., were sentenced earlier this week for their role in a large-scale residential black market marijuana grow. Mr. Yan was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison, and...

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Dr. David Ray Cesko, 66, of Rawlins, Wyoming, pleaded guilty on Feb. 26, 2020, in U.S. District Court in Cheyenne to multiple charges that, as a physician, he unlawfully distributed controlled substances, primarily opiates and benzodiazepines, to his patients. Cesko was charged by a Wyoming federal grand...

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon today announced that the DEA will direct enforcement resources to methamphetamine “transportation hubs” — areas where methamphetamine is often trafficked in bulk and then distributed across the country. While continuing to focus on stopping drugs being smuggled across the border...

SEATTLE - Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon today announced that the DEA will direct enforcement resources to methamphetamine “transportation hubs” — areas where methamphetamine is often trafficked in bulk and then distributed across the country. While continuing to focus on stopping drugs being smuggled across the border, DEA’s...

SEATTLE - A Snohomish, Washington, man who was sentenced just last week to 78 months in prison for dealing fentanyl-laced pills and cocaine is back behind bars tonight after being arrested on his way to a drug deal in Whatcom County. Michael John Scott, who tells his drug contacts to...

BOISE, Idaho - Ubaldo Soto-Diaz, an illegal alien from Mexico, but residing in Portersville, California, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin. Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye also ordered Soto-Diaz to pay a $2,000 fine and serve five years of supervised...