PHOENIX - DEA announced today the expansion of the its Heroin Enforcement Action (HEAT) initiative to Pinal County as part of a collaborative effort by the DEA Phoenix Field Division and the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office to address the opioid epidemic. Nearly 500 people in Arizona have lost their lives...

PHILADELPHIA - Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle of the Drug Enforcement Administration’(DEA) Philadelphia Division announced today that 42,426 pounds of prescription drugs were collected across Pennsylvania and Delaware by the DEA and its partners during the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day event this past Saturday, October 28th. A specific...

PHILADELPHIA - Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle of the Drug Enforcement Administration’(DEA) Philadelphia Division announced today that the DEA will conduct its 14th National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day event on Saturday, October 28th between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. As with previous Take-Back events, approximately 323 collection sites will...

PHOENIX - On August 13, 2017, Drug Enforcement (DEA) Phoenix Field Division agents and Tempe Police Department detectives seized 30,000 fentanyl pills, during an enforcement operation against a Sinaloa Cartel-related drug trafficking organization. This is the largest seizure of fentanyl tablets in Arizona’s history. The pills were discovered after a...

TUCSON, Ariz. - The DEA announced today the sentencing of Gustavo Nunez to 38.25 years in prison for performing illegal cosmetic surgeries on seven victims, three of whom were hospitalized, one with life-threatening injuries. In April 2017, Nunez pleaded guilty to 28 felony charges after performing illegal liposuction procedures. “Gustavo...

PHILADELPHIA - Gary Tuggle, Special Agent-in-Charge of DEA’s Philadelphia Field Division announced the release of its Analysis of Overdose Deaths in Pennsylvania, 2016 report at a news conference today. Key findings from the report indicate that in 2016, 4,642 drug-related overdose deaths were reported by Pennsylvania coroners and medical examiners...

PHOENIX, Ariz. - The Drug Enforcement (DEA) and Homeland Security (HSI) executed multiple search and arrest warrants today, closing two valley pharmacies and arresting a pharmacist as part of an ongoing OCDETF-designated investigation. On June 28, 2017, agents obtained an indictment from a federal grand jury charging pharmacist Vilawoe Aku...

June 08 , 2017 Contact: Public Information Officer (215) 852-8740 PHILADELPHIA - Gary Tuggle, Special Agent-in-Charge of the DEA Philadelphia Field Division announced that 4,642 drug-related overdose deaths were reported by coroners and medical examiners in Pennsylvania for 2016. This number represents a 37 percent increase in overdose deaths from...

PHOENIX, Ariz. - The DEA announced the sentencing of Dale Thomas Ratcliffe, a former Doctor of Osteopathy, to 5 years’ probation and the surrender of his medical license, after Ratcliffe was indicted on multiple federal charges earlier this year. Ratcliffe plead guilty to conspiracy to furnish false information after the...

PHOENIX - The DEA’s Phoenix Field Division has finished recording the total amount of drugs collected from those agencies who participated in Saturday’s National Take Back event. Once again, Arizonans turned out in significant numbers and disposed of 9,576.35 pounds, over four tons, of prescription drugs. The total for this...