DETROIT – As students return to school, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Detroit Field Division is reminding communities in its area of responsibility in Michigan, Ohio and northern Kentucky, about the hidden threat of drug trafficking through social media platforms, while also encouraging families to have conversations about the potentially...

DETROIT – Juan Romo-Padilla, 58, owner of La Posada – a Mexican restaurant, convenience store, and money remitter business located in southwest, Detroit - was arrested Sept. 3, 2026, following a joint investigation by the DEA Detroit Field Division and IRS Criminal Investigation. United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 27-year-old man has been sentenced for possession with intent to deliver cocaine and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. Eduardo Rodriguez Jr. pleaded guilty Nov. 5, 2024. U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera ordered Rodriguez to serve 125 months in federal prison at a hearing Aug. 26, which...

MIAMI – Five defendants pleaded guilty to conspiring to import thousands of kilograms of cocaine into South Florida aboard sport fishing vessels from the Dominican Republic. According to court records, Andy Gabriel Mercedes-Hernandez, 32; Jesus Alberto Salcedo-Perez, 32; Keisy Estibet Peguero, 38; Enmanuel Amauris Rivera-Cabrera, 32; and Mario Joel Rijo-Jimenez...

SAN ANTONIO- On Friday, August 21, 2026, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will join Facing Fentanyl , to unite families, communities, and organizations across the country in recognizing National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day. This year marks the fifth anniversary of the national observance which honors and remembers the lives...

MIAMI – Ten defendants have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a South Florida cocaine trafficking conspiracy that involved cocaine supplied by a Mexican drug cartel and others. U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles sentenced Reinaldo Fernandez, 63, to 188 months in federal prison; Javier Garcia-Mora, 40...

LAREDO, Texas – A 52-year-old Mexican national has been ordered to prison for his role in two-year, multimillion-dollar trade-based money laundering conspiracy to move drug trafficking proceeds through Texas to Mexico. Gabriel Arturo Castillo of Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, pleaded guilty April 8. U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo has...

CLEVELAND – Hundreds of individuals were apprehended and taken into custody throughout northern Ohio as part of a multi-agency strategic initiative to combat violent crime. The DEA Detroit Field Division was part of a multi-jurisdictional sweep across eight cities, known as Operation Northern Shield, was coordinated among federal, state, and...

DETROIT - On Friday, August 21, 2026, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will join Facing Fentanyl, to unite families, communities, and organizations across the country in recognizing National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day. This year marks the fifth anniversary of the national observance which honors and remembers the lives lost...

DEL RIO, Texas – A federal jury in Del Rio convicted a Houston woman on four counts of trafficking methamphetamine into the U.S. from Mexico, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on Dec. 16, 2025...