SEATTLE - Two Bellingham, Washington, residents made their initial appearance today in U.S. District Court in Seattle following their arrest on May 28, 2020, for distributing fake oxycodone tablets tainted with fentanyl. Troy J. Klander, 38, and Zachary D. Salas, 38, are charged with conspiracy to possess fentanyl with intent...

PORTLAND, Ore.—Omnicare Inc., a subsidiary of CVS Health and a provider of pharmacy services to long-term care facilities, has agreed to pay the United States a $15.3 million civil penalty to resolve allegations that it violated federal law by, among other things, allowing opioids and other controlled substances to be...

SAN DIEGO – Federal agents on the San Diego Tunnel Task Force uncovered a sophisticated drug smuggling tunnel on Thursday, March 19, which extends under the United States-Mexico border to a warehouse in a commercial complex in the Otay Mesa area of San Diego. The discovery of the tunnel resulted...

PORTLAND, Ore.—The leader of a Salem-area drug distribution network was sentenced on March 11, 2020, to federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine in and around Salem, Oregon. Isaias Alvarado, 38, a Mexican citizen residing in Salem, was sentenced to 120 months in federal...

SEATTLE – A Bothell, Washington, man is charged in an eight-count complaint for operating an illegal money exchange business involving bitcoin. Kenneth Warren Rhule, 26, made his initial appearance on the criminal complaint in U.S. District Court in Seattle on March 10, 2020. Rhule is charged with conducting an unlicensed...

EL CENTRO, Calif. – The region’s highest-ranking law enforcement officials joined together today to issue a dire public safety alert about the extreme danger of fentanyl-laced pills following the fatal overdose of a 15-year-old boy, the youngest person known to have died as a result of fentanyl in Imperial County...

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration today announced the results of Project Python, a DEA-led multilateral interagency operation encompassing all global investigations and related disruption activities targeting the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG). This announcement marks the successful conclusion of six months of investigative and...

SEATTLE - The head of a drug distribution ring who was convicted at trial of drug and gun crimes was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to15 years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran. Rhett Irons, 41, of Lynnwood, Washington was convicted on December 12, 2019...

SAN DIEGO – Michael Steen pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting that he supplied fentanyl that led to the fatal overdose of a 33-year-old Ramona, California woman on July 9, 2018. According to his plea agreement, Steen sold more than 500 grams of what he knew to be fentanyl...

SAN DIEGO – The Drug Enforcement Administration San Diego Field Division urges practitioners and members of the public to be cautious of telephone calls from criminals posing as DEA employees threatening arrest and prosecution for supposed violations of federal drug laws or involvement in drug-trafficking activities. DEA continues to receive...