ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Lonnie Dean, 48, of Belen, N.M., was sentenced this afternoon to 20 years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release for his conviction on methamphetamine trafficking and assault on a federal officer charges. Dean’s sentence was announced by Special Agent in Charge Joseph M...

SEATTLE - The American people have again responded in droves to the most recent DEA-led National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. Last Saturday, residents across the country turned in 647,211 (324 tons) of expired and unwanted medications for safe and proper disposal at the 5,683 take-back sites that were available in...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Francisco Burciaga, 43, of El Paso, Texas, was sentenced this morning to 20 years in federal prison followed by ten years of supervised release for his heroin trafficking conviction, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough, Joseph M. Arabit, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s El...

BOISE, Idaho - Rahil Akhtar, 37, of Eagle, Idaho, pleaded guilty on November 4, 2013, in federal court to one count of acquiring and obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud and deception. Akhtar was a dentist licensed to practice in the state of Idaho. According to court documents, from...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Nathan Jackson, 27, and his sister, Hailey Jelinek, 20, from Fairbanks, Alaska, were sentenced on November 1, 2013, in U.S. District Court. Jackson was sentenced to 123 months in prison and three years of supervised release. He had previously pleaded guilty to both counts of an indictment...

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Joseph M. Arabit, Special Agent in Charge of DEA’s El Paso Division and U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough, announced the indictment of 18 individuals who allegedly participated in a tri-state drug trafficking organization that obtained methamphetamine from Arizona and Texas and distributed the drugs in Otero...

SEATTLE - A Puyallup, Washington man who shot and killed two men who had entered the garage where he was growing marijuana pleaded guilty on October 25, 2013, in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to manufacturing marijuana and possession of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime. Jeremy...

SEATTLE - The largest volume used car dealership in Washington, pleaded guilty and was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle for failure to file a monetary transaction report. Zein Automobiles, Inc., d/b/a Independence Auto Sales and Best Bet Auto Sales with locations in Lynnwood and Everett, forfeited $1.5...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Five residents of Santa Fe, N.M., were arrested earlier today based on a 16-count federal indictment charging them with Oxycodone trafficking offenses. Two other Santa Fe residents were arrested on federal marijuana trafficking charges and another individual was arrested on state narcotics trafficking charges. The arrests were...

EL PASO, Texas - In El Paso this morning, U.S. District Judge Frank Montalvo sentenced 25-year-old Julio Adrian Pesqueira-Galaviz, to the statutory maximum of 15 years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release for his leadership role in a scheme to illegally purchase firearms in the U.S...