TACOMA, Wash. - An investigation begun by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the West Sound Narcotics Enforcement Team in February 2014 resulted today in the arrest of 19 people with ties to a methamphetamine distribution ring. Law enforcement served 24 search warrants on locations in Washington and Arizona in connection...

SEATTLE - A Drug Enforcement (DEA) led task force conducted raids at 14 locations across King and Pierce Counties, as well as locations in Oregon, following a two-year investigation of a drug trafficking organization. Law enforcement searched residential and business locations in Maple Valley, Enumclaw, Ravensdale, Auburn, Kent, Federal Way...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Rachel Rangel, 29, of Anchorage, Alaska, was sentenced to eight years imprisonment on November 3, 2016, for her role in a narcotics trafficking organization. U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason also ordered Rangel to serve five years of supervised release following her release from custody. On June...

SEATTLE - Eleven people were arrested yesterday in Washington and Nevada in connection with a large drug smuggling and distribution ring operating in four western Washington counties. An additional person was already in immigration custody. The arrests coincided with the execution of 24 court-authorized search warrants for properties located in...

SEATTLE - Six years after the 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. The Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington State, Idaho and Alaska) made...

CHICAGO - A federal grand jury in Chicago has indicted a Morris man on attempted murder charges for allegedly trying to kill two DEA Task Force officers during an undercover drug sting in Joliet, IL. Adan Godinez, 31, of Morris, tried to kill the officers during an undercover operation in...

CHICAGO - Federal charges unsealed today accused 24 individuals of various drug offenses for allegedly using Amtrak trains to transport heroin and cocaine to Chicago from California. One of the defendants is an Amtrak employee who allegedly stole a package of cocaine upon arrival at Chicago’s Union Station. Authorities uncovered...

SEATTLE - Three people involved in an elaborate scheme to obtain narcotic drugs by using forged prescriptions both online and in person now face federal charges. The conspirators used stolen DEA registration numbers to create phony prescriptions while using various online tools to make it appear that the prescriptions were...

SEATTLE - 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 156 collection sites in the Pacific Northwest, operated...

BOISE, Idaho - Brian Weaver Cluff, 44, of Meridian, Idaho, was sentenced on October 12, 2016, in United States District Court to 322 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug crime. U.S. District Judge Stanley A. Bastian from the...