BEAUMONT, Texas - Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney John M. Bales announced today the indictment of 24 individuals who operated a major drug distribution ring and were responsible for trafficking methamphetamine to customers across the United States, including in the...

LAREDO, Texas - Altagracia Guadalupe Vargas, 28, of Laredo, has been convicted of conspiracy and possession with the intent to distribute Heroin, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. The jury returned its verdict following a three-day trial and...

McALLEN, Texas - Two McAllen men have received significant sentences for conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute marijuana and conspiring to launder the drug proceeds, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Alberto Alaniz, 51, and Jose...

HOUSTON - Former Houston Police (HPD) officer Marcos E. Carrion has been ordered to federal prison for his role in a drug conspiracy, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Carrion entered a guilty plea to the charge Thursday...

LAREDO, Texas - Jose Manuel Saldivar-Farias aka “Z-31” or “El Borrado” has been charged with conspiracy to possess marijuana allegations after illegally entering the U.S., announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Saldivar-Farias, 27, is alleged to be a...

WASHINGTON - The United States Drug Enforcement (DEA) today issued a nationwide alert about the dangers of fentanyl and fentanyl analogues/compounds. Fentanyl is commonly laced in heroin, causing significant problems across the country, particularly as heroin abuse has increased. This alert was issued through the multi-agency El Paso Intelligence (EPIC)...

McALLEN, Texas - Jose Urbano Cortinas, 29, has been ordered to prison for nearly 23 years following his conviction of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Cortinas, of Memphis...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Jose Luis Zuniga-Hernandez, 47, aka Wicho or XW or Commandante Wicho, has been ordered to federal prison along with his brother Armando Arizmendi Hernandez, 37, aka Commandante Mando or XW2 for conspiracy to import more than five kilograms of cocaine and more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana...

LAREDO, Texas - Seven people were sentenced this week for their roles in a drug conspiracy involving the shipment of cocaine and methamphetamine from Laredo to Dallas and Houston, announced Drug Enforcement (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. U.S. District Court...

WASHINGTON - DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart today issued the following statement on the arrest in Mexico of Zetas leader Omar Trevino Morales: "The Drug Enforcement Administration proudly congratulates the Government of Mexico and their leadership in the arrest of Omar Trevino Morales, head of the Zetas cartel. The Zetas...