CINCINNATI - Phillip Watkins, 32, of Cincinnati, pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute heroin laced with carfentanil. Carfentanil is a controlled substance 10,000 times more powerful than morphine, and caused serious physical harm to people who bought the drugs. Watkins also pleaded guilty to attempting to murder a witness he...

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Seventeen people were indicted in federal court for their role in a conspiracy to purchase large amounts of powder cocaine, cook the drug into crack cocaine and then sell it in and around Medina County, law enforcement officials said. Indicted in federal court are: Troy Bankhead, 47...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge announced that his office sought, and U.S. Magistrate Judge Phillip J. Green issued last Friday and earlier today, arrest warrants for 18 separate defendants charged by criminal complaint with conspiring to distribute heroin and cocaine in the areas of Grand Rapids...

COLUMBUS, Ohio - David McShan, 39, of Steubenville, Ohio, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 74 months in prison and eight years of supervised release for his role in running a Steubenville-area heroin-trafficking ring. McShan and his brother, Frederick A. McShan, 37, were each convicted following a weeklong jury...

PHOENIX - On August 13, 2017, Drug Enforcement (DEA) Phoenix Field Division agents and Tempe Police Department detectives seized 30,000 fentanyl pills, during an enforcement operation against a Sinaloa Cartel-related drug trafficking organization. This is the largest seizure of fentanyl tablets in Arizona’s history. The pills were discovered after a...

DETROIT - Acting United States Attorney Daniel L. Lemisch announced that a physician who practiced in Oak Park, Michigan, pled guilty on August 16th, 2017, to writing prescriptions for oxycodone without medical justification. Lemisch was joined in the announcement by Timothy J. Plancon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S...

DAYTON, Ohio - The DEA announced today that Dayton will be the next “360 Strategy” city to take part in a comprehensive law enforcement and prevention effort that’s designed to assist communities dealing with the heroin and prescription drug abuse epidemic. Timothy J. Plancon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the DEA’s Detroit...

TUCSON, Ariz. - The DEA announced today the sentencing of Gustavo Nunez to 38.25 years in prison for performing illegal cosmetic surgeries on seven victims, three of whom were hospitalized, one with life-threatening injuries. In April 2017, Nunez pleaded guilty to 28 felony charges after performing illegal liposuction procedures. “Gustavo...

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Twenty-two people were indicted in federal court for their roles trafficking heroin and other drugs in the Youngstown and Ravenna areas, law enforcement officials said. Arrests were executed this morning for people named in three separate indictments. A 79-count indictment charges 12 people with drug trafficking and...

WOOSTER, Ohio - A Chinese national living in Massachusetts was arrested and charged with distributing opioids and other drugs that were shipped from China to the United States and ultimately to Ohio, the DEA said. Bin Wang, 42, operated Cambridge Chemicals, Wonda Science, and other companies from a warehouse in...