WASHINGTON – Today, Attorney General William P. Barr and Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Administrator Timothy J. Shea announced the results of Operation Crystal Shield, DEA’s six-month-long effort targeting the command and control elements of Mexican cartels that operate major methamphetamine “transportation hubs” in the United States. At a press conference...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A federal judge sentenced Chase Smothermon, 32, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, to 45 years in prison for abducting and assaulting two men, one of whom was tortured, killed, and mutilated. Smothermon suspected the victims of stealing drugs and money from his home. On Jan. 24, Smothermon pleaded...

AUSTIN, TX - Over the past two weeks, federal, state and local authorities have arrested 21 individuals in connection with a cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking operations based in the Austin area, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Steven S. Whipple, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney John F...

HOUSTON – A 26-year-old man has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute meth in the Houston area, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Steven S. Whipple, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Carlos Solorio aka...

HOUSTON– A federal grand jury sitting in Austin has returned a six-count indictment against a 31-year-old paralegal specialist with the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Western District of Texas, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Steven S. Whipple, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick of...

BEAUMONT, Texas - Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Steven S. Whipple, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Cox announced today that eight individuals have been arrested in the Eastern District of Texas pursuant to a federal indictment which alleges drug and money laundering violations. A federal grand...

HOUSTON – Two Texas men are set to appear in federal court on charges of drug distribution that resulted in an overdose, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Steven S. Whipple, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. A federal grand jury returned the nine-count superseding indictment...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Mariah Ferry, 22, of Albuquerque, New Mexico was sentenced today in federal court in Santa Fe, New Mexico to 30 years in prison on charges related to the kidnappings and brutal assaults of two victims suspected of stealing drugs and money from the home of co-defendant, Chase...

WACO, Tx. - In Waco today, U.S. District Judge Alan Albright handed down lengthy federal prison sentences to multiple defendants in four separate cases, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Steven S. Whipple, Houston Division, U.S. Attorney John F. Bash, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Chris Combs...

HOUSTON - A north Texas bodybuilder has been charged with conspiring to sell steroids, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Steven S. Whipple, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox. Philip Russell Archibald, 29, of Lancaster, was charged via criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances...