KANSAS CITY, KAN. – The last of 15 defendants was sentenced to prison after a Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) investigation dismantled a Kansas City metro-based drug trafficking ring linked to Mexico. In December 2019, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) launched an investigation into a...

Orlando, FL – Plaza Pharmacy, LLC and Paul Ezeobinwa have agreed to pay the United States $50,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the Controlled Substances Act by improperly distributing schedule V drugs and committing multiple recordkeeping violations. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement. “Our Diversion investigators will...

Pensacola, Fla. – Thomas Christopher Morton, 47, and Laurie Ann Chapman, 54, both of Pensacola, Fla., were each sentenced to five years in federal prison. Morton was convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl, one count of...

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Cristian M. Stevens on Tuesday sentenced a man who was involved in a drug conspiracy that caused one fatal and one nonfatal overdose to 200 months in prison. Haeder Jameel, 23, was also ordered to pay $51,005 in restitution to the parents of the...

Gainesville, Fla. – Eddie Jerome Scott, 38, of Gainesville, Fla., pleaded guilty in federal court to distribution of methamphetamine; possession with intent to distribute over 50 grams of methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl; carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime; and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The...

Tampa, Fla. – Eric Turner (30, Georgia) and Jose Smith (29, Valrico) have been charged in a federal indictment with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin. If convicted, Turner and Smith each face a minimum of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. U.S. Attorney Gregory W...

CAPE GIRARDEAU – An Alabama man has admitted involvement in the burglary of a Kennett, Missouri pharmacy last year and the theft of 16,800 pills, U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Albus announced Monday. Cornelius Cardez Bray, 31, of Birmingham, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of intent to steal a controlled...

ST. LOUIS– Steven L. Hofer was appointed Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) St. Louis Field Division, marking a return to the Division in which he began his 22-year career with the agency. SAC Hofer will oversee operations across 10 DEA offices in Kansas...

Jacksonville, Fla. – Henglie Zhou (31, China) has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jordan E. Pratt to five years in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana. Zhou pleaded guilty on March 5, 2026. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the...

Tallahassee, Fla. – Michael Termaine Bell, of Marianna, Fla., was sentenced to ten years in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and 50 grams or more of marijuana, possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and...