LOS ANGELES - Rite Aid Corporation has paid $834,200 in civil penalties to the United States to settle claims stemming from alleged violations of the Controlled Substances (CSA). The settlement is part of an agreement reached last week to resolve allegations that certain Rite Aid pharmacies in Los Angeles dispensed...

RIVERSIDE, Calif - Two men who were allegedly operating a “honey oil” lab in Cherry Valley when it exploded and severely burned one of them now face federal charges of operating an illegal drug manufacturing facility. Hector Gallegos, 34, of San Jacinto, surrendered to authorities yesterday and made his initial...

LOS ANGELES - A 28-year-old woman arrested early this morning at Los Angeles International Airport has been charged with trying to smuggle at least a kilogram of cocaine to her hometown of Detroit. Kennsha Mason, 28, was arrested by special agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration after boarding a Spirit...

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Jesus Alberto Bueno-Meza was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine, announced United States Attorney Brian Stretch and DEA Special Agent-in-Charge John J. Martin. Bueno-Meza, 48, a citizen of Mexico who was living in...

LOS ANGELES - A former baggage handler employed at Los Angeles International Airport was arrested Tuesday by authorities investigating the use of employee credentials to breach airport security. Alberto H. Botello, 23, of South Gate, was taken into custody without incident by officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the...

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Leshawn Lawson was sentenced to 214 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent-in-Charge John J. Martin. The sentence was handed down yesterday by the Honorable Phyllis J. Hamilton, United States...

FRESNO, Calif. - Kaiser Foundation Health System Inc. has paid $850,000 to settle allegations that a Kaiser Permanente pharmacy in Modesto violated the Controlled Substances (CSA) by improperly filling defective prescriptions and by failing to maintain accurate records, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent-in-Charge John...

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - David Beckford was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to manufacture counterfeit Xanax pills, for engaging in international money laundering, and for his use and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and in violation of...

RENO, Nev. - Richard Winston West II, aka Richie West, former manager of the Jones-West Ford dealership in Reno, pleaded guilty today to prescription drug conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute oxycodone. Special Agent in Charge Steve Comer of the DEA’s Los Angeles field division, U.S. Attorney Daniel G...

FRESNO, Calif. - Krishen Sauble Iyer, 36, of Fresno, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to launder money, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge John J. Martin and U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert jointly announced the plea. According to court documents, Iyer was the owner of several insurance sales and...