LONDON, Ky. – On Monday, October 19th, 2026, a Statesville, NC, man, Luis Ruiz-Mejia, 48, was sentenced to 156 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Robert E. Wier for conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. According to his plea agreement, from on or about September 30...

MOBILE, AL – Dominick Gerald Balli was sentenced on October 13, 2026, by United States District Court Judge Terry F. Moorer to 120 months in federal prison for cocaine trafficking. According to court documents, on June 12, 2025, an Escambia County, Alabama, Sheriff’s deputy conducted a traffic stop on a...

NEW ORLEANS – The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) New Orleans Field Division announces its observance of National Red Ribbon Week, taking place October 23–31, 2026. As the nation’s largest and longest-running drug awareness and prevention campaign, Red Ribbon Week serves as the cornerstone of the agency’s prevention efforts across Louisiana...

NEW ORLEANS – Today, U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle, along with the federal, state and local participating agencies comprising the Homeland Security Task Force – New Orleans (“HSTF”), announced the successful conclusion of a nearly four-year, extensive multi-agency narcotics investigation that dismantled multiple drug trafficking organizations operating throughout the Bayou...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, in collaboration with more than 4,300 law enforcement partners, will host the 31st National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. More than 4,400 collection sites will be set up across the country to...

NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, in collaboration with more than 4,300 law enforcement partners, will host the 31st National Prescription Drug Take Back Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 24. Collection sites will be set up across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas to...

WHEELING, W.Va. – A Wheeling, West Virginia man will spend the next five years in federal prison for selling methamphetamine near a playground, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey. Matthew Luff, 42, sold more than 13 grams of methamphetamine near Heritage Port Playground in Wheeling. Luff has multiple prior convictions...

FAYETTEVILLE – A Benton County man was sentenced to 210 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release, for Possession with the Intent to Distribute More Than 50 Grams of Methamphetamine. The Honorable Chief District Judge Timothy L. Brooks presided over the October 8, 2026, sentencing hearing, which...

WHEELING, W. Va. — Two South Carolina men have admitted to trafficking large quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine in Ohio County. U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey made the announcement on October 8, 2026. Phillip Johnson, also known as “PNut,” and Mark Chisholm, also known as “Infant Premo,” pleaded guilty...

Louisville, Ky. – A Mexican national illegally and unlawfully living in Louisville was sentenced on October 7, 2026, to 10 years in prison for distribution of cocaine, possession of a firearm by an alien illegally and unlawfully in the United States, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a...