PHOENIX - Alexandro Luis Gomez, 30, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced on September 28, 2022, by United States District Judge Rosemary Márquez to 17 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Gomez previously pleaded guilty to Distribution of a Controlled Substance connected to the overdose death of...

SAN DIEGO - Victor Hugo Anez Vaca Diez, aka Chi Chi, alleged leader of a large-scale transnational criminal organization, was arraigned in federal court yesterday following his extradition to the United States from Argentina. On August 18, 2017, a federal grand jury sitting in the Southern District of California returned...

PHOENIX - Maria Fernanda Granillo-Velazquez, 21, of Mexico, was charged on August 19, 2022, by criminal complaint for Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl. Granillo-Velazquez had her initial appearance on August 22, 2022, before United States Magistrate Judge Michael T. Morrissey. The case is set for trial on November 1...

SAN DIEGO - A jury convicted Nameer Mohammad Atta yesterday in federal court of distributing the fentanyl that led to the fatal overdose of an active-duty lance corporal in the United States Marine Corps on May 21, 2020. According to evidence presented at trial, Atta sold fake “M30” pills containing...

PHOENIX – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration today announced the results of an enforcement operation that spanned from May to September and resulted in significant fentanyl seizures across the United States. “On the frontline as we race to save lives, DEA Arizona continues to seize historic amounts of deadly fentanyl,”...

SAN DIEGO - Anthony Souza of Ocean Beach was sentenced in federal court today to 12.5 years for conspiracy to distribute 400 grams and more of fentanyl. Souza’s distribution of fentanyl resulted in the fatal overdose of 28-year-old Chad Stevens, also of Ocean Beach. According to his plea agreement, Souza...

PHOENIX - In February 2021, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Phoenix Field Division rolled out the Operation Engage initiative in Yavapai County and the team hit the ground running partnering with many local and national agencies to help promote drug prevention awareness. One of those partnerships has been with Community...

SAN DIEGO – An indictment was unsealed in federal court today charging 10 alleged members of an Imperial Valley-based methamphetamine distribution network with drug trafficking and money laundering offenses. In addition, three more related defendants were charged today via complaint with drug trafficking offenses. In a coordinated multi-state takedown that...

SAN DIEGO – Lorenzo Anthony Garcia of Brawley, 23, was sentenced in federal court today to 130 months in prison and three years of supervised release for providing the fentanyl that caused the overdose death of Josue M. Garcia Moreno, a young football player from Central Union High School in...

PHOENIX - Diego Armando Equihua-Sanchez, 31, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced on August 18th, 2022, by United States District Judge Scott H. Rash to 60 months in prison, followed by 60 months of supervised release. Equihua-Sanchez previously pleaded guilty to Aiding and Abetting Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine. Equihua-Sanchez...