WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration filed its intent to temporarily place 7-hydroxymitagynine (7-OH) and three related substances into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Prior to DEA issuing this notice, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) confirmed synthetic 7-OH, and the three related...

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Joshua Willie McCarver, also known as “TJ,” 28, of Detroit, Michigan, pleaded guilty today to distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. McCarver admitted to a leading role in a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that distributed methamphetamine and fentanyl in the Huntington area. According to court...

Washington, D.C. - A Honduras-based Chinese national extradited from Guatemala pleaded guilty today to conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, conspiring to launder money derived from drug trafficking, and to providing material support to a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, specifically the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG). According...

KNOXVILLE, Tn. – The Drug Enforcement Administration, working with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, arrested 70 individuals on a wide range of criminal charges related to drug trafficking following a two-month long targeted enforcement operation carried out across Eastern Tennessee, dubbed Operation Knoxville Thunder. In addition to...

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – On June 24, 2026, Antonio DeWayne Watkins, a/k/a “Tony Bologna” and “Gator Mac,” 32 of Chattanooga, was sentenced to 432 months of imprisonment to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, by the Honorable Curtis L. Collier, in the United States District Court for the Eastern...

WASHINGTON – Formal hearing proceedings regarding the proposed rescheduling of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) will begin on Monday, June 29, 2026, at 9:00 A.M. ET in the North Courtroom at DEA Headquarters located at 700 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, Va. The...

NASHVILLE – Thomas K. Weir, 65, of Celina, Tennessee, the majority owner of Oakley Pharmacy, doing business as Dale Hollow Pharmacy and Clay County Xpress Pharmacy, was sentenced June 18, 2026, to 24 months in federal prison, ordered to pay $1,419,974 in restitution to Medicare and TennCare, and required to...

KNOXVILLE, Tn. – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Louisville Field Division and United Against Fentanyl (UAF) will host a local Walk for Lives 2026 event at Covenant Health Park, Home of the Knoxville Smokies, on July 11, 2026 in support of DEA’s Fentanyl Free America initiative. Walk for Lives events...

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA - Today, United States Attorney Matthew L. Harvey announced civil settlements with two defendants in connection with alleged schemes to defraud Medicare and Medicaid. The civil settlements are part of the Department of Justice’s 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown. The settlements stem from each defendant’s respective...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Roderick Tyrone Boyd, 30, of Vandalia, Ohio, was sentenced today to four years and nine months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for distribution of fentanyl and aiding and abetting the distribution of fentanyl. According to court documents and statements made in...