SEATTLE - Two brothers who, with other fugitive brothers, led a Mexico based drug smuggling and distribution ring were sentenced on September 7, 2012, in U.S. District Court in Seattle to over a decade in prison. One of the leaders, Orlando Olais Rocha, 32, of Lynnwood, Washington was sentenced to...

ANCHORAGE, AK - Seven men and one woman were arrested on August 30, 2012, during a joint federal and state takedown in Anchorage, Alaska; Atlanta, Georgia; and Rochester, New York. Eleven individuals were indicted by a federal grand jury in Anchorage on August 22, 2012, on charges of conspiracy to...

BOISE, ID - Two Boise men pled guilty this week to charges of offering drug paraphernalia for sale at their business locations. Yoke Fee Chan, 31, and Bradley Berquist, 30, were indicted separately by a federal grand jury in Boise on May 9. Chan is the owner and operator of...

CINCINNATI, OH - Teams of local law enforcement officers and federal agents this morning arrested seven people charged in complaints filed in U.S. District Court alleging that they conspired to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana. The crime carries a punishment of at least ten years and up to...

SEATTLE, WA - Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration sent notification letters to the operators and property owners of 23 marijuana store fronts located in school zones. The letters informed the owner/operators that such enterprises operating as “dispensaries” within 1,000 feet of a school, playground or other prohibited area could result...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A leader and two soldiers in the Barrio (BA), a transnational border gang allied with the Juarez Cartel, were sentenced in El Paso, Texas, to life, 30 and 20 years in prison, respectively, announced DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart, and other federal officials. Hector Galindo, 38, aka...

ANCHORAGE, AK - On June 20, 2012, Brackston Moores, 32, of Anchorage, was sentenced to 160 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute heroin. Chief United States District Judge Ralph R. Beistline imposed the sentence on Moores. According to information presented to the court, Moores conspired with Anchorage co-defendants Ryan...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - - The Drug Enforcement Administration DEA today commended House and Senate negotiators for agreeing on legislation to control 26 synthetic drugs under the Controlled Substances Act. These drugs include those commonly found in products marketed as “K2” and “Spice.” The addition of these chemicals to Schedule I...

BOISE, ID. - Miguel Beltran-Marquez, 35, of Caldwell, Idaho, was sentenced on June 14, 2012, to 188 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered Beltran-Marquez to serve five years of supervised release following his prison term and to pay a $1,000...

BETHESDA, MD - - Cigarette and alcohol use by eighth, 10th and 12th-graders are at their lowest point since the Monitoring the (MTF) survey began polling teenagers in 1975, according to this year’s survey results. However, this positive news is tempered by a slowing rate of decline in teen smoking...