EL PASO – The Drug Enforcement Administration’s El Paso Division has a new Special Agent in Charge (SAC). On Sept. 11, 2023, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram named Towanda R. Thorne-James as the new Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the El Paso Division, which serves New Mexico and West Texas...

PECOS – A Kermit man was sentenced this week in federal court in Pecos to 115 months in prison for possession and distribution of methamphetamine and an additional 24 months in prison for a supervised release violation stemming from a felon in possession charge he was sentenced for in 2022...

PECOS – An Anthony, New Mexico man was sentenced this week to 327 months in prison for his role in a drug trafficking organization that distributed cocaine. According to court documents, Gilberto Hernandez, aka “G”, 30, was the leader of the Hernandez drug trafficking organization (DTO). From August 2021 until...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Independence, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and for illegally possessing eight firearms. Nicholas G. Gutierrez, 43, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips on Tuesday, Jan. 23, to 15 years in...

Note: View Purdy’s Plea Agreement . View Maldonado’s Plea Agreement . ALBUQUERQUE – Towanda R. Thorne-James, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration El Paso Division, and Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Brian Kain Purdy and Sabino Alfonso...

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – A district judge sentenced a semi-truck driver to 12 years in federal prison after he admitted to hauling 88 pounds of heroin, fentanyl, meth and cocaine through southern Illinois. Ledaniel Russell, 50, of Fort Worth, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent...

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – A federal grand jury returned a seven-count indictment charging 11 individuals in a conspiracy to distribute large quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine in southern Illinois and across the country. The indictment charges: Rogelio Martinez-Becerra, also known as “Rodrigo” or “Chaparro” (Shorty), 35, and Ricardo...

El Paso – In 2023, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration marked its 50th anniversary as the only federal agency dedicated to fighting deadly drugs and drug-related violence. This milestone celebrated a half century of dedication to fighting drug trafficking in the United States and around the world, which threatens the...

Note: View the Superseding Indictment . ALBUQUERQUE – Towanda R. Thorne-James, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's El Paso Division and Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced the results of a law enforcement operation that resulted in fifteen defendants being...

Note: View the Indictment . ALBUQUERQUE – Towanda Thorne R. James-Thorne, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's DEA El Paso, Division, Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Amy Lueders, Acting Deputy Director of Operations for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife...