SANTA, ANA, Calif. - The lead defendant in an indictment that outlined a wide-reaching conspiracy to smuggle, manufacture and distribute more than $12 million worth of synthetic drugs has pleaded guilty in federal court. Sean Libbert, 41, of Newport Beach, pleaded guilty yesterday afternoon to a series of charges related...

SAN FRANCISCO - Six years after the U.S. Drug Enforcement (DEA) launched its National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, Americans continue to turn out in large numbers to rid their homes of unused medications, including controlled prescription (CPDs) such as painkillers, tranquilizers, and stimulants. On October 22, 2016, Northern California...

LOS ANGELES - A San Jacinto man affiliated with the Riverside San Jacinto First Street gang was sentenced to a decade in prison Monday for his role in methamphetamine trafficking. Luis Miguel Castro, aka “Fat Boy,” 27, was sentenced by United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer, who found that...

FRESNO, Calif. - Patrick Mara, 36, of Bakersfield, formerly a detective with the Bakersfield Police Department, was sentenced Monday to five years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for a conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine, Acting United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to court...

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Baldemar Valencia-Alcazar was sentenced yesterday to 12 years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge John J. Martin. The sentence...

SAN FRANCISCO - DEA reprises one of its most popular community programs this weekend: National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. On Saturday October 22 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. the public can dispose of their unused, unwanted prescription medications at one of 4,700 collection sites nationwide, operated by 3,800...

SAN FRANCISCO - Thanousone Volarat, 36, of Fresno, was sentenced Monday by United States District Judge Dale A. Drozd to six years and six months in prison for conspiring to manufacture and distribute marijuana, money laundering, and escaping from the Fresno County Jail, Acting United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert...

LOS ANGELES - DEA reprises this weekend one of its most popular community programs: National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. On Saturday October 22 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. the public can dispose of their unused, unwanted prescription medications at one of 4,700 collection sites nationwide. The service is...

LOS ANGELES - Two Colombian drug kingpins have been extradited to Los Angeles on federal charges of overseeing shipments of thousands of pounds of cocaine from Colombian laboratories to Central American distribution hubs, ultimately destined for sale in Los Angeles and elsewhere in the United States, including more than $70...

FRESNO, Calif. - Damacio Diaz, 44, of McFarland, formerly a detective with the Bakersfield police department, was sentenced today to five years in prison for bribery, possession and attempted possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, and making and subscribing a false income tax return, Acting United States Attorney Phillip...