SAN DIEGO and IMPERIAL, Calif. – With enthusiastic participation nationwide, DEA and its law enforcement partners have now collected nearly 12 million pounds of unused or expired prescription medications over the course of 17 successful DEA National Prescription Drug Take Back events. During the 17th semiannual event on April 27...

CALEXICO, Calif. – On May 1, 2019, Ezequiel Godinez-Cervantes was arrested at the Calexico Port of Entry on two warrants for violating the terms of supervised release. Godinez-Cervantes is a 77-year-old U.S. citizen. A warrant was issued for Godinez-Cervantes’ arrest in October 2018 by the U.S. District Court, Central District...

PORTLAND, Ore.—In related criminal cases, Cole Williams Griffiths and Raleigh Dragon Lau pleaded guilty on April 22, 2019, for their roles in a conspiracy to traffic marijuana grown in Hood River, Oregon and Portland to Virginia, Texas, and Florida. Drug proceeds, in the form of bulk U.S. currency, were returned...

SAN DIEGO – With robust public participation over the course of 16 prior events, the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day Initiative continues to remove ever-higher amounts of opioids and other medicines from the nation’s homes, where they are vulnerable to misuse, theft or abuse by family members and visitors...

SEATTLE – This Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time, the Drug Enforcement Administration and its local law enforcement, community and tribal partners in the Pacific Northwest will collect expired, unused and unwanted prescription medications at one of 230 collection sites. There are 19 collection sites...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Christopher Thomas Howard, a/k/a “Indy,” 33, of Fairbanks, has been federally indicted with three counts of distribution of methamphetamine. Howard was arrested on April 5, 2019, based on a criminal complaint. According to the criminal complaint, on Jan. 3, 2019, Howard allegedly negotiated to sell two ounces...

SAN DIEGO – Drug dealer Trevon Antone Lucas pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday, admitting that he sold pills containing fentanyl to a La Jolla man, causing his fatal overdose last year. Lucas, a resident of Highland, California, admitted in his plea agreement that he posted online advertisements for the...

BOISE, Idaho – Roberto Joe Miguel Serpa, 39, of Caldwell, was sentenced this week for his role in two federal drug crimes, announced U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis. Serpa was sentenced on April 16, 2019, to 126 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Serpa was sentenced...

SPOKANE, Wash. – Carlos Peraza-Kissi, age 25, of Yakima, Washington, was sentenced April 17, 2019, for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. United States District Judge Stanley A. Bastian sentenced Peraza-Kissi to a 188-month term of imprisonment, to be followed by a five-year term of court supervision after he is...

SAN DIEGO – Three South American men were convicted by a federal jury late yesterday of trafficking approximately 1,230 kilograms (2,706 pounds) of cocaine worth more than $28 million on the high seas. The verdict came after a weeklong trial before U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez. “These traffickers attempted...