MIAMI – Three Indian River County, Florida residents were sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking crimes, following a long-term drug trafficking investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office (IRCSO). Beginning in July of 2022, the IRCSO began an undercover operation to purchase...

MIAMI – On Oct. 28, 2023, the community once again emptied their medicine cabinets to help dispose of old, unwanted, and expired medications. Nationwide, DEA and its law enforcement partners collected 599,897 pounds of unneeded medications at 4,675 collection sites nationwide. Locally, the Miami Field Division, which covers the state...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – On Oct. 28, 2023, Arizona residents once again emptied their medicine cabinets to help dispose of old, unwanted, and expired medications. In total, DEA Arizona and its law enforcement partners collected 5,414 pounds of unneeded medications at 80 collection sites statewide. Nationwide, DEA and its law enforcement...

TAMPA , F la. – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that a federal jury has found Javier Monserrate Vazquez (46, Wesley Chapel) guilty of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy against the United States, obstruction of justice, witness tampering...

MIAMI – The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Miami Field Division and its partners will host its 25th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event offers an easy, no-cost opportunity for the community to anonymously dispose of unneeded medications at...

JACKSONVILLE, F la. – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that Diandre Murel (29, Jacksonville Beach) pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute over 500 grams of cocaine. Murel faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 5 years, and up to 40 years, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not...

TUCSON, Ariz. – Oswaldo Lopez-Escobar, of Mexico, was charged by complaint on October 5, 2023, for Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine. The complaint alleges that, on October 4, 2023, Lopez-Escobar, driving a semi-truck, applied for admission into the United States from Mexico at the Mariposa Port of Entry in...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Hector Manuel Cruz, Jr., 29, of Chandler, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge G. Murray Snow to 15 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. On April 25, 2023, Cruz pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. Co-defendant Konstantin...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Rudy Vasquez Cervantes, 20, of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, was indicted last week by a federal grand jury in Phoenix on one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. The indictment alleges that, on June 30, 2023, Cervantes was traveling by vehicle when he was stopped...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Martha Betancourth Angulo, 34, of Torrance, California, was indicted on one count each of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine. The indictment alleges that, on June 29, 2023, Angulo was traveling on Interstate 8 in Yuma County, Arizona, when she...