ANCHORAGE, Alaska--A federal grand jury in Alaska returned an indictment yesterday charging a Wasilla man with distributing Carfentanil to two individuals, resulting in the non-fatal overdose of an adult victim and the fatal overdose of a minor. Per court documents, the Alaska Bureau of Investigations (ABI) discovered that between Nov...

LAREDO, Texas – Two Texas residents have been sentenced for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Houston Division William Kimbell and U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. Hernan Cortez, 40, Houston, and Daniel Elizondo, 37, Laredo...

EUGENE, Ore.— The leader of a Lane County, Oregon, drug trafficking cell was sentenced to federal prison today for possessing 384 pounds of methamphetamine, the largest single seizure of methamphetamine in Oregon State history and valued at over a million dollars. Martin Manzo Negrete, 51, a Mexican national unlawfully residing...

McALLEN, Texas – A 41-year-old Mexican national illegally in the United States has been ordered to prison for possessing narcotics with the intent to distribute, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Houston Division William Kimbell U.S. Attorney Nicholas Ganjei. Rolando Banda-Lucero pleaded guilty Oct...

Seattle – Fourteen people were indicted in late May and eleven were taken into custody in coordinated arrests last week as part of an ongoing investigation of drug traffickers with ties to drug trafficking in Seattle’s International District and homeless encampments, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. The defendants...

McAllen, Texas – A 34-year-old McAllen man has pleaded guilty to possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Houston Division William kimbell and U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. The investigation revealed Michael Luera was selling methamphetamine in the...

HOUSTON – A 33-year-old Houston resident has been ordered to federal prison following his convictions for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine and being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Houston Division William Kimbell and...

Tacoma – A major redistributor for a South Sound-based drug trafficking ring that was connected to Aryan prison gangs was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 126 months in prison, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. 46-year-old Joseph Hempel, of Burien, Washington, was a high-volume drug...

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Salem, Oregon man was sentenced to federal prison for possessing and trafficking more than 40 pounds of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin. Rico Anthony Russell Rigutto, 46, was sentenced to 108 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release. According to court documents, on December 14, 2021, as...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – Two family members with ties to South Texas have been charged with allegedly conspiring to materially support a Mexican cartel previously designated as a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to commit money laundering and related smuggling charges, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Acting Special Agent in Charge of...