PHOENIX, Ariz. – Carlos Rene Montes, 32, a United States Citizen from Tucson, and Miguel Angel Sesma, 30, a legal permanent resident from Mexico living in Phoenix, were charged on Tuesday by federal criminal complaint with Conspiracy to Possess with the Intent to Distribute Fentanyl after agents seized a combined...

ALBUQUERQUE – An Arizona man was sentenced to 14 years in prison for drug trafficking and firearms offenses following his arrest at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in New Mexico in 2023. There is no parole in the federal system. According to court documents, on April 27, 2023, David Maldonado...

DETROIT – Joseph Twilley, 65 years old, of Detroit, was sentenced to just over 13 years in prison. United States District Judge Laurie J. Michelson sentenced the Detroit-based leader for overseeing a drug trafficking network that distributed kilograms of cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin; laundering his drug money; and possessing firearms...

TACOMA, Wash. – A key member of a drug distribution ring selling fentanyl pills, methamphetamine, and heroin throughout the Puget Sound region was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 14 years in prison for his role in the conspiracy and for possessing firearms in furtherance of drug...

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Rashaad Green, 31, of Union, and Shaquille Barber, 30, of Moore, have been sentenced to 15 years and seven years in federal prison for trafficking marijuana, money laundering, and possession of firearms in connection with drug trafficking. Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that from approximately 2020...

EL PASO, Texas – An El Paso man was sentenced in a federal court to 180 months in prison for trafficking fentanyl and other illicit drugs. According to court documents, Victor Arellano, 40, delivered 1,000 fentanyl pills to an undercover agent in exchange for $1,500 on or about Nov. 28...

Note: View the Plea Agreement ALBUQUERQUE – An El Paso man pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking charges after fleeing a Border Patrol checkpoint in Otero County, leading to a high-speed chase that ended in a head-on collision with a motorcyclist and the discovery of nearly 10 kilograms of pure...

PHOENIX, Ariz. - A multi-agency enforcement effort led by the U.S Drug Enforcement Administration, Phoenix Police Department, Arizona Attorney General's Office, and Arizona HIDTA, dubbed Operation Double Down, has wrapped up and proven successful in combating the drug trafficking epidemic of fentanyl and other illegal substances which have resulted in...

TACOMA, Wash. – A 32-year-old Renton, Washington resident was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 13 years in prison for his role in a drug trafficking ring connected to Aryan prison gangs, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Shawn Ellis was arrested in March 2023, when...

Louisville, KY – A Los Angeles, California, man was sentenced yesterday to 5 years and 10 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and money laundering. U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge Jim Scott of the DEA Louisville Field...