WASHINGTON – A federal jury in Beaumont, Texas, convicted a Romanian national today for plotting to traffic hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from the United States in a scheme that also included money laundering, arms trafficking, and an attempt to assassinate rival gang members. According to court documents and evidence...

HOUSTON – A 33-year-old man has been sentenced to federal prison following his conviction for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute nearly 4,000 grams of drugs, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Jorge Delgado-Santacruz pleaded guilty Nov. 29, 2022. U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal has now ordered Delgado-Santacruz...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Nor-Cal Pharmacies Inc., doing business as Lockeford Drug, and pharmacist/owner Lawrence Howen have agreed to pay $1 million in penalties to resolve allegations of violations of the Controlled Substances Act, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Brian M. Clark announced...

McALLEN, Texas – A 50-year-old Mexican national has been ordered to federal prison for possession with intent to distribute 88.5 kilograms of cocaine, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux of the Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Faustino Perez Luna pleaded guilty...

HOUSTON – Two Houston men have admitted to holding a victim hostage at gunpoint, beating and threatening him with death, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux of the Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Noe Hernandez, 39, helped kidnap and hold the...

BEAUMONT, Texas – A Lufkin man has been sentenced to federal prison for trafficking drugs in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux of the Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs. Daniel Lopez, 38, pleaded guilty to conspiracy...

SAN FRANCISCO – U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey convened a press conference bringing together numerous federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities to announce “All Hands on Deck,” a law enforcement initiative to address what has become endemic drug dealing in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco. U.S. Attorney Ramsey...

SAN FRANCISCO – The United States Attorney’s Office has charged Yessenia Margarita Barrientos-Lainez—a former employee of a money services business in the Tenderloin district—with conspiring to launder drug proceeds by wiring large sums of money abroad for a known drug trafficker in the San Francisco Bay Area, announced United States...

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Two men have pleaded guilty to conspiring to traffic cocaine across the border, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux of the Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Mikeal Jovany Phillips, 35, Huffman, and Juan Andres Rodriguez-Murillo, 31, Mexico...

LAREDO, Texas – Three Laredo residents have been sentenced for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine and launder money, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux of the Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Cesar Mendiola, 57, Rafael Rodriguez, 63, and...