EL PASO - Americans nationwide did their part to reduce the opioid crisis by bringing the DEA and its more than 4,200 local and tribal law enforcement partners a record-setting 912,305 pounds-456 tons-of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs for disposal at more than 5,300 collection sites. That...

PHOENIX - DEA announced today the expansion of the its Heroin Enforcement Action (HEAT) initiative to Pinal County as part of a collaborative effort by the DEA Phoenix Field Division and the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office to address the opioid epidemic. Nearly 500 people in Arizona have lost their lives...

ROSWELL, N.M. - In spring 2017, federal, state and local agencies joined forces to disrupt and dismantle a criminal organization that allegedly was trafficking large quantities of methamphetamine and numerous firearms in southeastern New Mexico. Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney, Acting Special Agent in Charge Steve Borak of the...

EL PASO - This afternoon, U.S. Magistrate Judge Anne T. Berton ordered 36 year-old Martin Arody Sanchez Aguirre held without bond pending trial on federal drug trafficking charges. Sanchez Aguirre is one of five individuals indicted earlier this month for trafficking in cocaine and heroin throughout the El Paso area...

PHOENIX - On August 13, 2017, Drug Enforcement (DEA) Phoenix Field Division agents and Tempe Police Department detectives seized 30,000 fentanyl pills, during an enforcement operation against a Sinaloa Cartel-related drug trafficking organization. This is the largest seizure of fentanyl tablets in Arizona’s history. The pills were discovered after a...

TUCSON, Ariz. - The DEA announced today the sentencing of Gustavo Nunez to 38.25 years in prison for performing illegal cosmetic surgeries on seven victims, three of whom were hospitalized, one with life-threatening injuries. In April 2017, Nunez pleaded guilty to 28 felony charges after performing illegal liposuction procedures. “Gustavo...

EL PASO, Texas - Seven residents of Lea County, New Mexico, including four Mexican nationals, and a resident of Yuma, Arizona, are facing federal narcotics trafficking and money laundering charges alleging that they imported methamphetamine and cocaine into Lea County from Mexico through Arizona. The charges are the result of...

PHOENIX, Ariz. - The Drug Enforcement (DEA) and Homeland Security (HSI) executed multiple search and arrest warrants today, closing two valley pharmacies and arresting a pharmacist as part of an ongoing OCDETF-designated investigation. On June 28, 2017, agents obtained an indictment from a federal grand jury charging pharmacist Vilawoe Aku...

EL PASO, Texas - This week, federal and state authorities arrested 14 members of the Orrantia Drug Trafficking Organization, including ringleader Mario Armando Orrantia, on federal drug trafficking charges announced United States Attorney Richard Durbin, Jr. and Special Agent in Charge Will Glaspy, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Those arrested include...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Desiree Ulibarri, 31, of Albuquerque, pleaded guilty today in federal court to federal prescription opioid conspiracy charges. The plea agreement recommends that she be sentenced to a term of imprisonment not to exceed 57 months followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the...