NEW YORK — The Justice Department announced today the unsealing of charges against, and the arrests of, five Ecuadorian nationals who conspired to import vast quantities of cocaine into the United States for more than a decade. The defendants include a former member of Ecuador’s National Assembly, a former Ecuadorian...

Foreign Terrorist Organization Tren de Aragua (TdA) leaders Yohan José Romero, also known as “Yohan Petrica,” 48; Giovanni Vicente Mosquera Serrano, also known as “El Viejo,” 37; and Juan Gabriel Rivas Núñez, also known as “Juancho,” 44, were previously charged in a 2025 six-count second superseding indictment in the Southern...

TUCSON, Ariz. – Sebastian Higuera-Fuentes, 23, of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, was sentenced on Oct. 27, by United States District Judge Raner C. Collins to 60 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release. Higuera-Fuentes previously pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine. As part of the conspiracy, Higuera-Fuentes...

LOS ANGELES – 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...

WASHINGTON – 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, including...

LOS ANGELES – This October, DEA honors the legacy of DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena with the annual Red Ribbon Campaign — the nation’s largest, and longest-running, drug prevention program, which serves as the cornerstone of agency’s prevention efforts. Landmarks, bridges, and city buildings across the United States are...

Francisco Manuel Bermúdez Cagua, also known as “Churrón,” will be arraigned in federal court in Brooklyn this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo on a superseding indictment charging him with international cocaine distribution conspiracy, international cocaine distribution, and use of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking. Bermúdez Cagua...

RENO – A northern Nevada man was sentenced today by United States District Judge Miranda M. Du to 188 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to possess and distribute methamphetamine. The government recommended life in prison. “This defendant chose to flood our communities with pure poison for...

LOS ANGELES – The Justice Department today announced charges against 15 defendants, including six medical professionals, for health care fraud schemes that collectively resulted in $2 billion in fraudulent claims to government and private health care programs, including sham substance abuse treatment programs, unnecessary artery treatments, and bogus hospice services...

A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment today charging Ivan Cazarin Molina, 42, a Mexican national, with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine for importation into the United States and possessing a firearm in furtherance of the drug trafficking offense. According to court documents, Cazarin...