CLEVELAND – Five individuals will now face prison time for their roles in a drug trafficking conspiracy that trafficked illegal drugs from California to Ohio. Terrance Gainer, 29, of Akron, was sentenced to 240 months (20 years) in prison and five years of supervised released after pleading guilty to: Conspiracy...

SAN FRANCISCO- In June, DEA San Francisco Field Division and detectives with Marin County Sheriff’s Department Specialized Investigative Unit (SIU), began a narcotics investigation into Ian Howerton, 31, of San Francisco. During the investigation, undercover detectives conducted controlled purchases which included the sale of Cocaine and Ketamine from Howerton in...

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 - Janero Van DeMario Garrett, 49, a United States citizen and multi-convicted felon, was apprehended in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico July 17, after a joint operation conducted by the DEA Detroit Field Division, DEA-Mexico, U.S. Marshals Mexico Foreign Field Office and U.S. Marshals Detroit Office, FBI-Detroit, and Mexican authorities, announced...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a 10-count indictment Thursday against four Sacramento residents charging them with multiple counts of distributing controlled substances, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Bob P. Beris announced. Balentin Quintero, 27, was charged with one count of...

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Timothy VerHey announced that two Colombian nationals made their initial appearance in a federal court in Grand Rapids on Friday after they were extradited to the United States on Thursday. According to the indictment, from November 2024 through...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Felix Ortiz-Plata, 45, a Mexican national illegally residing in Stockton, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins to 16 years and three months in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Bob P. Beris...

DAYTON, Ohio – Ernesto Villalobos, 48, of Los Angeles, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 150 months in prison, June 15, for distributing kilograms of cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine throughout the United States, including in the Southern District of Ohio. A Drug Enforcement Administration investigation revealed, Villalobos served as...

CINCINNATI – An ongoing investigation stemming from the May 10 arrest of two Southwest Ohio relatives has led investigators to taking an additional 244 kilograms of suspected cocaine from the alleged drug traffickers. Damian Galan, 31, of Cincinnati, and Diego Galan, 19, of Fairfield, appeared in federal court following their...

CINCINNATI – Two Southwest Ohio relatives were arrested by federal agents for allegedly conducting large-scale cocaine trafficking. Damian Galan, 31, of Cincinnati, and Diego Galan, 19, of Fairfield, will appear in federal court today for initial appearances. According to charging documents, agencies within the Cincinnati Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF)...