WASHINGTON – The Drug Enforcement Administration announces a major new initiative to strengthen collaboration between the United States and Mexico in the fight against cartels, whose trafficking networks are responsible for flooding American communities with deadly synthetic drugs. At the core of this effort is Project Portero, DEA’s flagship operation...

RICHMOND, Va. – An Iraqi national residing in Henrico was sentenced to prison for possession with the intent to distribute of fentanyl. According to court documents, on July 25, 2023, Yasir H. Al Sheikh Mohammed, 28, conducted hand-to-hand transactions from a hotel room in Glen Allen rented by his girlfriend...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Torrey Lane Hodsden, 28, of Asheville, was sentenced to 300 months in prison yesterday followed by five years of supervised release for using a gun in furtherance of drug trafficking and other charges, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Jae W...

COLUMBIA, S.C. —Jalik Shykeil Tucker, 30, of Sumter, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, 40 grams or more of fentanyl, and a quantity of cocaine and crack cocaine. Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that during March 2023...

SAN ANTONIO – A Frio County man was sentenced in federal court to 235 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. According to court documents, Joe Corona, 34, sold a package containing 486 grams of pure methamphetamine for $2,850 on March 3, 2021. Drug Enforcement Administration agents...

LOS ANGELES – Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terrance C. Cole has appointed DEA San Diego Field Division Special Agent in Charge Brian M. Clark as the new Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Los Angeles Field Division. Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Clark brings with him a wealth of...

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Court Judge Deborah L. Boardman sentenced Mikiyas Kefyalew, 27, of Silver Spring, Maryland, to eight years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing fentanyl that resulted in the death of a Bethesda, Maryland, minor in January 2022. Kelly O. Hayes...

LAREDO, Texas – A 37-year-old Mexican national is set to appear in federal court for a large-scale international marijuana and cocaine trafficking conspiracy, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge of the Houston Division Jonathan C. Pullen and U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. Juan Carlos Sanchez Gaytan has...

Conn. - David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that KRISTEN CAROTENUTO, 35, of Pelham, New York, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford to five months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for tampering with vials...

BOSTON – A Worcester psychiatrist has been sentenced in federal court in Boston for illegally prescribing controlled substances. Mohamad Och, 69, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman to four years of probation and ordered to pay a $30,000 fine. In November 2023, Och was convicted following...