TAMPA, Fla. - Shamon D. Heatly (37, St. Petersburg) was sentenced to 12 years and 7 months in federal prison for selling cocaine. Heatly had pleaded guilty on October 28, 2019. According to court documents, an undercover law enforcement officer met with Heatly, at which time Heatly directed the officer...

TAMPA, Fla. – A federal grand jury today returned an indictment charging Damian Sierra, 41, of Port St. Lucie, with possessing 500 grams or more of cocaine with the intent to distribute. If convicted, Sierra faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years, up to 40 years, in federal prison...

TAMPA, Fla. – Manuel Alfonso Munoz, 48, of Tampa, was sentenced to nine years and three months in federal prison for selling cocaine. Munoz pleaded guilty on Feb. 27, 2019. According to court documents, Munoz sold cocaine to a confidential informant on six occasions. The total amount of cocaine sold...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a ceremony today at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., DEA Chief of Operations D. Christopher Evans was appointed by Attorney General William P. Barr to the Presidential Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice. On Oct. 28, 2019, President Donald J. Trump...

WASHINGTON – Last week, DEA Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon visited Beijing, China. Acting Administrator Dhillon met with Chinese officials from the General Administration of Customs, the National Narcotics Laboratory, and the National Narcotics Control Commission, including Vice Commissioner Liu Yuejin. As a welcome to China, the Ministry of Public Security...

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration today released Prevention with Purpose: A Strategic Planning Guide for Preventing Drug Misuse Among College Students. This new publication provides a road map for college and university-based prevention professionals to address campus-wide drug misuse issues. “With vaping, marijuana use, and the abuse of...

TAMPA, Fla. - Jimmy Riascos-Riascos, 44, Colombia, South America, was sentenced to 24 years and 4 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute cocaine on board vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Riascos-Riascos had pleaded guilty on July 18, 2019. According to court records, Riascos-Riascos was...

ORLANDO, Fla. - Kenneth Bernard Smith, 55, of Winter Garden, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for possessing a loaded firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon, and for possessing with the intent to distribute heroin and cocaine. Smith had previously pleaded guilty to the offenses. According to...

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced the seizure of 44 website domains offering to sell illicit vaping cartridges containing THC and other adulterated substances. This enforcement effort – part of Operation Vapor Lock – is a result of DEA’s continued...

TAMPA, Fla. - Carlos Chavez-Aguirre, 35, Yesid Caicedo Asprilla, 50, and David Hurtado Vallecilla, 45, all Colombian nationals, were sentenced to 20, 12, and 11 years, respectively, in federal prison terms for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine while...