RALEIGH, N.C. – The leader an armed drug-trafficking organization (DTO) responsible for moving kilogram quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl in and around the Craven County area was sentenced yesterday to 420 months in prison for drug trafficking and gun charges. On March 3, 2023, Ivan Leonardo Medina-Beltran, age 45, pled...

EL PASO, Texas – A Mexican national was sentenced in a federal court in El Paso to 70 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. According to court documents, Cesar Tarango Cobos, 42...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A St. Joseph, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to distribute heroin and for illegally possessing firearms. Roderick A. Hughes, 48, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 17 years in federal prison without parole. On...

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Frank A. Tarentino III, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Ivan J. Arvelo, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland...

TUCSON, Ariz. – Oswaldo Lopez-Escobar, of Mexico, was charged by complaint on October 5, 2023, for Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine. The complaint alleges that, on October 4, 2023, Lopez-Escobar, driving a semi-truck, applied for admission into the United States from Mexico at the Mariposa Port of Entry in...

BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Michael Ostolski, 55, of North Tonawanda, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute oxymorphone. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Hector Manuel Cruz, Jr., 29, of Chandler, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge G. Murray Snow to 15 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. On April 25, 2023, Cruz pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. Co-defendant Konstantin...

SAVANNAH, GA -- Two Georgia men, including one from Bryan County, have been sentenced to federal prison for trafficking the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl. Darien Cothern, 34, of Marietta, Ga., was sentenced to 42 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, and Javarus McKinney, a/k/a “Jody,” 34...

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 38-year-old local man has been ordered to federal prison for drug trafficking and weapons charges, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux of the Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Raul Cedillo Jr. pleaded guilty Jan. 3, 2022...

NEW YORK CITY - Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Billy Ortega, a/k/a “Jason,” was sentenced to 30 years in prison today for running a drug delivery service that distributed dangerous drugs for over seven years, including the fentanyl that killed...