TAMPA, Fla. – Six individuals who are part of the Fernando Pineda-Jimenez Transnational Criminal Organization have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a conspiracy to distribute cocaine using vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States (U.S.). Fernando Pineda-Jimenez, a/k/a “Padrino,” 40, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy...

LUBBOCK, TX - Forty defendants – including 15 arrested in Wednesday’s “Operation Taste the Rainbow” in Lubbock – have been charged with gun and drug crimes, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah. The men and women, all allegedly tied to methamphetamine trafficking in and around Lubbock, have been charged in...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Jonesboro, Mississippi, man was sentenced in federal court today for transporting more than five pounds of methamphetamine and nearly three pounds of heroin through Kansas City, Missouri, enroute to St. Louis. Willie Lewis Braison, 48, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to...

INDIANAPOLIS - Assistant Special Agent in Charge Michael Gannon, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Indianapolis, and Acting U.S. Attorney John E. Childress of the Southern District of Indiana announced that a drug trafficking ring consisting of at least 24 people have been sentenced in federal court. The organization operated in and around...

TUCSON, Ariz. - Oscar Alberto Martinez, 27, of Tucson, Arizona was sentenced on August 5th, 2021, by U.S. District Judge John C. Hinderaker to five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Martinez previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl. Martinez operated as...

MIAMI – Several Highlands County men have been sentenced in South Florida federal district court to prison terms for their roles in a powder and crack cocaine drug trafficking ring that had become entrenched in the Lake Placid neighborhood of Highway Park, Florida. A law enforcement operation handled by the...

PEORIA, Ill. – Special Agent in Charge Robert J. Bell, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Chicago Division, and Acting U.S. Attorney Douglas J. Quivey of the Central District of Illinois announced that Harold Shane Koch, 42, of Pekin, Illinois, was sentenced on Sept. 9, 2021, to 20 years in federal prison, to...

NEW YORK – Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York Division and New York Attorney General Letitia James announced today the arrests of 12 individuals for their roles in a drug trafficking operation that transported cocaine from Puerto Rico to Buffalo and other...

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Results of the first 60-days of the federal Violence Prevention and Elimination Response (VIPER) Initiative were announced today. VIPER sought to address the dramatic increase in gun violence in the City of Buffalo during the first half of 2021. The initial 60-day period of VIPER covered the...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alfred A. Cooke III, Drug Enforcement Administration-Merrillville, Indiana, and Acting United States Attorney Tina L. Nommay of the Northern District of Indiana announced that Corey Harris, 26, of Danville, Illinois, was sentenced to 120 months in prison followed by five years...