WASHINGTON - The Drug Enforcement (DEA) today announced its intention to place the active materials in the kratom plant into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act in order to avoid an imminent hazard to public safety. Mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine are found in kratom, which is a tropical tree indigenous...

WASHINGTON - The Drug Enforcement (DEA) announced several marijuana- related actions, including actions regarding scientific research and scheduling of marijuana, as well as principles on the cultivation of industrial hemp under the Agricultural Act of 2014. DEA Publishes Responses to Two Pending Petitions to Reschedule Marijuana - DEA has denied...

EL PASO - Today, federal, state and local authorities arrested seven individuals in the El Paso area based on federal drug trafficking and weapons charges. An eighth defendant was arrested back in June 2016. Those arrested today include: Manuel Almanzar ,44, San Elizario, TX Oralia Almanza, 43, San Elizario Adrian...

WASHINGTON - Hundreds of thousands of counterfeit prescription pills, many containing deadly amounts of fentanyl and fentanyl-related compounds, have made their way into the U.S. drug market, according to a DEA intelligence report released today. Law enforcement nationwide report higher fentanyl availability, seizures, and known overdose deaths than at any...

EL PASO - A Barrio (BA) gang member pleaded guilty today for his participation in a racketeering conspiracy, Special Agent in Charge Will Glaspy of the U.S. Drug Enforcement (DEA) El Paso Field Division; Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department's Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Richard L...

ALBUQUERQUE - Daniel Jiron, 41, of Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court to heroin and methamphetamine trafficking charges. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Jiron will be sentenced between 72 to 96 months to prison followed by five years of supervised release. The guilty plea was announced...

ALBUQUERQUE - Destiny Stephenson, 35, of Roswell, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to methamphetamine trafficking charges. Stephenson is one of 41 individuals charged in Sept. 2015, with drug trafficking offenses as a result of an eight-month multi-agency investigation by the FBI, the DEA, Chaves...

EL PASO - This morning, federal, state and local authorities arrested a Sureños gang member and an associate charged in connection with methamphetamine trafficking in El Paso announced Drug Enforcement (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Will Glaspy, United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., 34th Judicial District Attorney Jaime Esparza...

ALBUQUERQUE - Ten individuals are facing heroin trafficking charges as the result of a DEA-led investigation targeting a heroin trafficking ring operating out of Sunland Park, N.M. The eight-month investigation concluded this morning after nine of the 10 defendants had been arrested. Special Agent in Charge Will R. Glaspy of...

WASHINGTON - The United States Drug Enforcement (DEA) released the 2016 National Heroin Threat Assessment Summary - (NHTA) today. The report outlines the expanding public health crisis afflicting America due to the use and abuse of heroin and other opioid drugs. Some key facts: The number of people reporting current...