Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle has sentenced Nicolas Garcia Hernandez 27, Shelbyville, Tenn., to 11 years and 3 months in federal prison for possessing with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Garcia Hernandez pleaded guilty on November 13, 2024. According to court documents, Garcia Hernandez, who had...

NEW ORLEANS – With so much attention ahead of Sunday’s big game, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is once again teaming up with NFL Alumni Health to encourage football fans to join us in the fight to save lives. The need is critical and the game plan simple: understand the...

MIAMI – On Jan. 30, 2025, a federal district judge in West Palm Beach, Fla., sentenced Anthony Raul Del Valle, 29, of Lake Worth Beach, Fla., to 10 years in federal prison. The sentence comes after a federal jury found Del Valle guilty of distributing acetyl fentanyl and fentanyl and...

WASHINGTON – The Trump Administration has announced the appointment of Derek S. Maltz as Acting Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Maltz replaces Anne Milgram who departed the agency last week. Maltz is a passionate, dedicated, career special agent who served 28 years at DEA before retiring in 2014...

MIAMI – Four South Florida residents have been sentenced to federal prison for distributing fentanyl and meth. On Jan. 16, Gito St. Fort, 35, of West Palm Beach, Fla., a career criminal, was sentenced to 320 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to distribution of a controlled substance resulting...

TAMPA, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Jorge Hernan Gonzalez-Ortiz, 50, of Colombia, and Carlos Andres Aldana-Gil, 43, also of Colombia, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States. Each faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. A sentencing date...

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is announcing three new rules to make permanent some temporary telemedicine flexibilities established during the COVID-19 public health emergency while also establishing new patient protections. In developing these rules, DEA has focused on the patient to ensure telemedicine is accessible for medical care...

MIAMI– On Dec. 10, Blake Alfonso Kolessa, 27, of Greenacres, Fla., was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks for possessing with intent to distribute metonitazene, N-desethyl isotonitazene, and methamphetamine. Kolessa previously pled guilty...

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Billy Ruiz (46, California) guilty of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Ruiz faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each count. His...

WASHINGTON – Operation OD Justice is a DEA initiative born out of a critical need to investigate drug poisoning and overdose deaths across the U.S. The initiative, launched in 2021 by DEA’s Los Angeles and San Diego Field Divisions, offers training, resources, and poisoning response coordinators to assist State and...