FORT MYERS, Fla. - A federal jury has found Edgar Vazquez (35, Fort Myers) guilty of possessing with the intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine. Vazquez faces a minimum mandatory term of 5 years, and up to 40 years, in federal prison. Vazquez had been indicted on...

WASHINGTON – Today, Attorney General William P. Barr and Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Administrator Timothy J. Shea announced the results of Operation Crystal Shield, DEA’s six-month-long effort targeting the command and control elements of Mexican cartels that operate major methamphetamine “transportation hubs” in the United States. At a press conference...

TAMPA, Fla. - An indictment charging eight members of a drug trafficking organization with offenses related to the distribution of cocaine and heroin was unsealed today. (See chart for details). According to court records, this investigation targeted illegal drug traffickers operating an open-air drug market in the Robles Park Housing...

SAN DIEGO – Federal District Court Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel today sentenced defendant Michael Steen to 148 months in prison for supplying the fentanyl that led to a 33-year-old Ramona woman’s fatal overdose on July 9, 2018. On March 4, 2020, Steen pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl, and...

OCALA, Fla. - Anthony Michele DeCotis, Jr. (32, Eustis) was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison for possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possessing of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. DeCotis had pleaded guilty on January 29, 2020. According to court records, on August...

TAMPA, Fla. - A 37-count indictment was unsealed today charging five individuals with money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison per count. The indictment also notifies the defendants that the United States is seeking a...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Rhiannon Rader (34, St. Marys, Georgia) was sentenced to five years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute oxycodone, hydrocodone, and alprazolam (Xanax). Rader had pleaded guilty on October 29, 2019. According to court documents, as an employee of a Jacksonville Beach physician’s office, Rader had access...

TAMPA, Fla. - Angelo Salvarezza (38, Port Richey) was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for possessing with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of that drug trafficking crime. Salvarezza had pled guilty on February 12, 2020. According to...

TAMPA, Fla. – A federal grand jury returned six indictments and one arrest pursuant to a criminal complaint charging 13 individuals for their roles in six fatal opioid overdoses. The indictments also notify the defendants that the United States intends to forfeit any assets that are alleged to be traceable...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -Four residents of Alachua, Florida, were arrested on federal criminal charges alleging an armed drug-trafficking conspiracy. The defendants arrested are: ● Lorenza Aaron Durr, Jr., 29, Alachua, Florida; ● Elboric Quadarius Robinson, 29, Alachua, Florida; ● Morris Robinson, 55, Alachua, Florida; and ● Roddrae Antonio Williams, 28, Alachua...