SAN FRANCISCO – On October 24, 2026, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and more than 4,200 law enforcement partners collected 645,636 pounds of unused medications as part of ongoing efforts to prevent drug misuse. This event marked DEA’s 31st National Prescription Drug Take Back Day with 4,212 collection sites nationwide...

ALBUQUERQUE - Angel Ramirez, from Albuquerque, New Mexico, faces federal drug trafficking and firearm offenses following her arrest during a DEA-led Homeland Security Task Force investigation. "During this operation, DEA agents working alongside our Homeland Security Task Force partners seized more than 40 kilograms of fentanyl powder, representing over 3...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – On October 24, 2026, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and more than 4,200 law enforcement partners collected 645,636 pounds of unused medications as part of ongoing efforts to prevent drug misuse. This event marked DEA’s 31st National Prescription Drug Take Back Day with 4,212 collection sites nationwide...

ALBUQUERQUE – An Albuquerque drug trafficker who amassed an arsenal of firearms, including machinegun conversion devices, and hundreds of grams of methamphetamine and fentanyl has been sentenced to nearly 29 years in federal prison. According to court documents, on July 6, 2024, Deundalas Gales, 37, was driving at a high...

On October 27, 2026, Donelfert Monterroso Vasquez, 51, a Guatemalan national, pleaded guilty to conspiring to import more than 450 kilograms of cocaine into the United States. According to court documents, Monterroso Vasquez coordinated the movement of multi-hundred-kilogram quantities of cocaine from Colombia through his location in Guatemala and on...

OAKLAND, Calif.– Mario Sevilla Artiaga and Danexi Mendoza Licona were each sentenced to seven years in federal prison on Friday, October 23, for conspiring to and selling fentanyl. U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar handed down the sentence. Mario Sevilla Artiaga, 23, and Danexi Mendoza Licona, 22, both nationals of...

FRESNO, Calif. — Isaac Benito Lopez, 39, of Fresno, was arrested and charged by complaint with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Bob P. Beris announced. According to court documents, on Oct. 21, 2026, Lopez drove to a...

Sacramento, Calif.— The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California; U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, San Francisco Field Division’s Sacramento District Office; Federal Bureau of Investigation, Sacramento Field Office; Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office; Sacramento Police Department; Central...

LONDON, Ky. – On Monday, October 19th, 2026, a Statesville, NC, man, Luis Ruiz-Mejia, 48, was sentenced to 156 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Robert E. Wier for conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. According to his plea agreement, from on or about September 30...

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, in collaboration with more than 4,300 law enforcement partners, will host the 31st National Prescription Drug Take Back Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 24. More than 4,400 collection sites will be set up across the country to...