LOS ANGELES —Today, law enforcement investigators served nine arrest warrants in multiple locations throughout Los Angeles and Riverside Counties. In March of 2020, the DEA launched Operation Crystal Shield to focus efforts on main U.S. methamphetamine trafficking transportation hubs. DEA identified eight major methamphetamine transportation hubs where Operation Crystal Shield...

Greenbelt, Md., – U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Ian Carlton Alexander a/k/a “Shawn Alexander”, age 50, of Towson, to 61 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and for being a felon in possession of a firearm...

BOSTON – A New York man was charged yesterday in federal court in Boston in connection with a drug distribution conspiracy involving heroin, fentanyl and cocaine. Wilkin Cedano, 37, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or...

Baltimore, Md., – U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Tirrel Saunders, a/k/a “Pretty”, age 35, of Baltimore, Maryland to 15 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Saunders was a member of the Gregory Butler Drug Trafficking Organization (“Butler...

Washington, D.C. - A Mexican national was extradited from Brazil to the United States on Nov. 10 to face international drug trafficking charges. Jose Gonzalez-Valencia, aka Jafett Arias-Becerra, aka La Chepa, aka Camaron, and aka Santy, 46, arrived in the United States on Wednesday and made his initial court appearance...

LOS ANGELES —The culmination of a three-month investigation resulted in a Santa Barbara methamphetamine distributor being sentenced on November 8, 2021 to 180 months in federal prison for narcotics violations. Cesar Castillo-Pena, 35, of San Bernardino, California, was sentenced by United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner. On July 28...

SAN DIEGO - Angel Dominguez Ramirez Jr. of Tamaulipas, Mexico, pleaded guilty in federal court today to drug and money laundering charges, admitting that he was the leader of a trafficking organization that transported ton-quantities of cocaine from South America to Mexico and into the United States. According to court...

ST. LOUIS – A federal grand jury indicted Derek Rockette of St. Louis for charges that include conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl. The indictment also alleges in a money laundering conspiracy charge that Rockette, Norma Corina Armenta-Lizarraga, Jian Zhong Fang, Yuede...

Greenbelt, Md., – U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel sentenced Russell Ramseur, age 44, of Largo, Maryland, to seven years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute at least one kilogram of heroin and for possession with...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal jury convicted an Alexandria man yesterday on charges of conspiracy, possession, and distribution of fentanyl and Eutylone, and being a felon in possession of a firearm during drug trafficking. According to court records and evidence presented at trial, from in or around June 2020, through...