PHOENIX, Ariz — DEA Special Agent in Charge Apolonio Ruiz Jr. joined Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and HIDTA Director Dawn Mertz to announce the results of a major multi-agency drug operation targeting criminal organizations operating in Arizona communities. “This extraordinary investigation saved countless lives,”...

WASHINGTON – Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced the results of a week-long operational enforcement action as part of a whole-of-government initiative aimed at removing dangerous and illegal vaping substances from communities across America. During the operation, DEA seized more than 2.3 million vape devices and cartridges and more than...

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration today announced the release of the 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA), DEA’s comprehensive review of the threats posed to the United States by deadly illicit drugs and the violent domestic and international drug trafficking organizations responsible for producing and trafficking the drugs...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Hector Manuel Cruz, Jr., 29, of Chandler, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge G. Murray Snow to 15 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. On April 25, 2023, Cruz pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. Co-defendant Konstantin...

TUCSON, Ariz. – Jonathan Edward Mayer, 22, of Tacoma, Washington, was sentenced on June 30, 2023, by U.S. District Judge Scott H. Rash to 84 months in prison. Mayer previously pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, Possession of a...

PHOENIX - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Phoenix Police Department Mountain View Precinct Neighborhood Enforcement Team (NET) have arrested four subjects who were involved in the distribution large quantities of fake M30 pills, fentanyl powder, methamphetamine and heroin in the greater Phoenix area. The investigation into the drug...

Washington, D.C. - Yesterday, a federal jury in Maryland convicted two El Salvadorian nationals for conspiring to participate in La Mara Salvatrucha, a transnational criminal enterprise, commonly known as MS-13. Junior Noe Alvarado-Requeno, aka Insolente, aka Trankilo, 25, and Miguel Angel Corea Diaz, aka Reaper, 39, were convicted of multiple...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. Coast Guard announced today a significant offload of drugs seized in international waters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Agents with the DEA and the crew of the USCG Cutter...

WASHINGTON – Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Justice announced action to further expand opportunities for scientific and medical research on marijuana in the United States. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking provides details on the proposed process and was filed for public inspection today, March 20. The...

SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. – Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced a Cochise County superior court judge sentenced Timothy Henry, a Sierra Vista drug distributor, to 14 years in prison. Henry’s co-defendants, Jaime Rene Leza, Jennifer Sue Phillips, and Shalmarie Tulk, were all previously convicted and sentenced for their role assisting Henry...