SAN DIEGO – An indictment unsealed today charges Carlos Paez Pereda, aka “Carlitos,” aka “Carlitos Rugrats,” alleged high-ranking lieutenant and leader of a violent wing of the Sinaloa Cartel called “Los Rugrats,” with Narcoterrorism and Material Support of Terrorism in connection with trafficking massive amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine...

New York – Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) New York Task Force Division Special Agent in Charge Christopher Roberts and New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the convictions and sentencings of Anthony Ortiz Vasquez, Hector Vasquez, and Kiara Rodriguez for their roles in a gun and drug trafficking network that...

Albany, New York – Felix Arencibia, age 40, of Amsterdam, New York, was sentenced today to 168 months’ imprisonment and five years of post-imprisonment supervised release for conspiracy and methamphetamine distribution charges in connection with his distribution and possession with intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of pure methamphetamine...

CENTENNIAL, CO – The Drug Enforcement Administration's Rocky Mountain Field Division (RMFD) is issuing a warning after DEA's Southwest Laboratory identified illicit pills containing mixtures of both deadly fentanyl/carfentanil and fentanyl/heroin. The drugs were found in tablets after lab analyses of recent seizures in both Colorado and Utah. "With these...

SARATOGA, NEW YORK – Operation Fast Track has led to the arrest of 83 defendants and the seizure of more than 2,100 counterfeit pills, some of which are suspected to be laced with fentanyl, over two kilograms of fentanyl and heroin, over a kilogram of cocaine, 3.5 pounds of psychedelic...

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — U.S. Attorney Ron Parsons announced the results of four landmark federal prosecutions in the past year that have systematically dismantled major drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) connected to the Mexican cartels responsible for flooding South Dakota communities with methamphetamine, fentanyl, and other deadly narcotics. Through coordinated, long-term...

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Kansas man was sentenced to 167 months in prison for his role in a transnational drug trafficking organization with ties to a Mexican cartel. The sentence follows a Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) investigation which has so far led to convictions of approximately a dozen...

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Dr. Douglas Cline and nurse practitioner Laurie McKenna have agreed to pay $500,000 to resolve civil actions brought by the United States involving unlawful opioid prescribing practices and a fraudulent conveyance action against Dr. Cline, announced Drug Enforcement Administration New York Enforcement Division, Special Agent in...

HOUSTON – A 51-year-old Houston man has been sentenced for his role in an ongoing cocaine distribution scheme that spanned nearly a decade, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Brian Leardo of the Houston Division and A cting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck. Leonel Mata Luna pleaded...

Pensacola, Fla. – Alejandro Palomino-Amador, a/k/a “Ichi”, 33, of Escondido, Calif., was sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and 500 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine. “Getting this transnational drug trafficker off the...