FRESNO, Calif. - Gamaliel Salas-Mendoza, aka Rene Salas (Salas), 38, of Mexico, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine. According to court documents, Salas and Miguel Sanchez-(Sanchez), 46, also of Mexico, maintained a stash house in Bakersfield where...

FRESNO, Calif. - Bernabe Hernandez, aka Juan Hernandez Marin, aka Raul Hernandez, aka Bernabe Villa-Lobos, 54, of Arvin, was sentenced following his guilty plea on March 31, 2014, to one and a half years in prison and ordered to forfeit $178,179 to the United States. According to court documents, Hernandez...

FRESNO, Calif. - Marco Antonio Granados, 20, of Fontana, pleaded guilty Monday to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. According to court documents, Granados admitted that on October 16, 2013, he and his cousin met with a confidential informant to negotiate the sale of 30 pounds...

PHOENIX - On June 18, 2014, the final defendant was sentenced in connection with Operation Clean Green - a multi-year investigation conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Internal Revenue Service. Hector Raul Ortiz-Tarazon, Sr. and his son, Hector Francisco Ortiz, Jr. ran a drug trafficking (DTO) that shipped...

TUCSON, Ariz. - U.S. Drug Enforcement (DEA)Special Agent in Charge, Doug Coleman, today announced the seizure of 89 pounds of white heroin and the arrest of seven defendants as part of an 11-month investigation. The seizure marks one of the state’s largest heroin busts. The investigation coined, “Operation Smack Talk”...

FRESNO, Calif. - A Tacoma, Wash. man was sentenced today for participating in an oxycodone and hydrocodone trafficking conspiracy where co-conspirators obtained prescriptions from a Central Valley doctor, filled them in area pharmacies and mailed the drugs to Washington and other states. United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii sentenced...

PHOENIX - Drug Enforcement (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Doug Coleman today announced that o - n June 9, 2014, John Kweku Eshun, 52, of Ellenwood, Ga., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow to 41 months in prison. Eshun is the 12th and final defendant sentenced in...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The successful resolution of a civil prosecution alleging violations of the Controlled Substances (CSA) against Ronnie E. Stone, aka Ron Stone, and Ron Stone M.D. Medical Weight Management Inc. was announced today. Dr. Stone paid the United States $250,000 to settle the federal claims. Dr. Stone was...

PHOENIX - The U.S. Drug Enforcement (DEA) unveiled a billboard in Phoenix, Arizona seeking information for the capture of Mexican drug lord Rafael Caro-Quintero - . The new reward is being offered by the U.S. Department of State under the Narcotics Reward Program for information leading to the arrest and/or...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Lida Amin, 40, of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Dublin, Calif., pleaded guilty today to conspiring to bribe a public official in furtherance of an ongoing effort to secure government contracts through graft. On August 8, 2013, a federal grand jury charged Lida Amin and her brother...