ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Pawankumar Jain, 66, a former physician, was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 108 months in prison and three years of supervised release for unlawfully dispensing controlled substances and health care fraud. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney John C. Anderson, DEA...

OMAHA, Neb.,– The United States Drug Enforcement Administration collected nearly 469 tons of unwanted medication at the 17th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day event, April 27, with a record-setting 6,398 sites hosted by more than 5,000 law enforcement partners. In Nebraska, 5,661 pounds of potentially dangerous and unwanted drugs...

EL PASO, Texas – With robust public participation over the course of 16 prior events, the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day Initiative continues to remove ever-higher amounts of opioids and other medicines from the nation’s homes, where they are vulnerable to misuse, theft or abuse by family members and...

ALBUQUERQUE , N.M. – A federal jury sitting in Albuquerque returned a guilty verdict against Yusef Casanova, 46, of Albuquerque, on methamphetamine trafficking and firearms charges today after a four-day trial before Senior U.S. District Judge James A. Parker. The verdict was announced by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred J...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A U.S. Magistrate Judge sitting in Albuquerque, N.M., found probable cause to support a criminal complaint charging Daniela Cota-Guitimea with a fentanyl trafficking offense. The charge arises from a DEA seizure of approximately 18.144 pounds of fentanyl in Albuquerque on April 16, 2019. Cota-Guitimea was remanded into...

OMAHA, Neb., – The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will host its 17th annual National Take Back Day, Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at designated sites across the nation where individuals can dispose of unwanted, unused and expired medications in a safe and secure location. Since the first National...

ALBUQUERQUE , N.M. - Jesus Francisco Fernandez, 59, of Pueblo. Colo., was convicted by a federal jury in Albuquerque last Wednesday of possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine. According to court documents and trial testimony, Fernandez was riding a bus through Albuquerque on Oct. 25...

BISMARCK, N.D. – DEA Omaha Division Special Agent in Charge Richard Salter, Jr., testified at the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Oversight Hearing at the United Tribal Technical College gymnasium in Bismarck, N.D., March 20. One of three federal representatives called to testify at the four-hour hearing, Salter discussed DEA’s...

OMAHA, Neb. – Sigourney Elementary School Principal Deanna Hutchings was presented a $1,000 check by Drug Enforcement Administration Des Moines Resident Office staff, March 18, after Wells and Owen Clark and their family were recognized as one of 20 2018 Red Ribbon Week Photo Contest winners. To qualify for the...

El PASO, Texas – The Drug Enforcement Administration urges its DEA-registered practitioners and members of the public to be cautious of telephone calls from criminals posing as DEA or other law enforcement personnel threatening arrest and prosecution for supposed violations of federal drug laws or involvement in drug-trafficking activities. DEA...