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...

TAMPA, Fla. - An indictment charging eight members of a drug trafficking organization with offenses related to the distribution of cocaine and heroin was unsealed today. (See chart for details). According to court records, this investigation targeted illegal drug traffickers operating an open-air drug market in the Robles Park Housing...

OCALA, Fla. - Anthony Michele DeCotis, Jr. (32, Eustis) was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison for possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possessing of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. DeCotis had pleaded guilty on January 29, 2020. According to court records, on August...

TAMPA, Fla. - A 37-count indictment was unsealed today charging five individuals with money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison per count. The indictment also notifies the defendants that the United States is seeking a...

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...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Rhiannon Rader (34, St. Marys, Georgia) was sentenced to five years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute oxycodone, hydrocodone, and alprazolam (Xanax). Rader had pleaded guilty on October 29, 2019. According to court documents, as an employee of a Jacksonville Beach physician’s office, Rader had access...

TAMPA, Fla. - Angelo Salvarezza (38, Port Richey) was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for possessing with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of that drug trafficking crime. Salvarezza had pled guilty on February 12, 2020. According to...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -Four residents of Alachua, Florida, were arrested on federal criminal charges alleging an armed drug-trafficking conspiracy. The defendants arrested are: ● Lorenza Aaron Durr, Jr., 29, Alachua, Florida; ● Elboric Quadarius Robinson, 29, Alachua, Florida; ● Morris Robinson, 55, Alachua, Florida; and ● Roddrae Antonio Williams, 28, Alachua...

TAMPA, Fla. – A federal grand jury returned six indictments and one arrest pursuant to a criminal complaint charging 13 individuals for their roles in six fatal opioid overdoses. The indictments also notify the defendants that the United States intends to forfeit any assets that are alleged to be traceable...