United States Drug Enforcement Administration

HARTFORD, Conn. – DEA New England Division Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Boyle and John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOEL JAQUEZ, 36, of Springfield, Massachusetts, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 192 months of...

ATHENS, Ga. – An inmate in the Georgia Department of Corrections system has pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine from prison, said Peter D. Leary, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia. Frankie Baza, 33, of Flowery Branch, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count conspiracy to...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Today, U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney sentenced Jose Flores Romero, 29, of Mexico, to 87 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release on drug trafficking charges, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. According to filed court documents...

MANCHESTER, NH – Today, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration launched a comprehensive law enforcement and prevention initiative aimed at reducing drug use, abuse and overdose deaths. “Operation Engage” allows participating field divisions to focus on the biggest drug threat and resulting violence in their respective geographic areas. The initiative...

BRUNSWICK, GA - An Atlanta man born and raised in Savannah who led a drug trafficking organization that transported and distributed cocaine and other drugs into the coastal Georgia area has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. Omar Griffin, 41, of Atlanta, was sentenced to 240 months in...

SAVANNAH, GA - Ten people have been charged in a federal indictment alleging a conspiracy to obtain and sell large amounts of opioids through fraudulent prescriptions. The indictment charges eight men and two women with taking part in a scheme to use forged and fraudulent prescriptions to obtain large amounts...

SAVANNAH, GA - A Garden City, Ga., clinic owner and CEO has been indicted for operating a clinic that provided a base from which a notorious “pill mill” doctor dispensed massive amounts of controlled substances. In a five-count indictment returned by a U.S. District Court grand jury, Jamesetta Whipple-Duncan, 58...

PORTLAND, ME – DEA New England Division Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Boyle announced that DEA 360 Maine in partnership with local coalitions and schools will be launching FREE after school youth dance programs in Maine starting in February. DEA 360 Strategy in Maine kicked off in December 2020...

BOSTON – A Lawrence man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for fentanyl conspiracy and unlawful possession of firearms, including an AR-15 rifle. Ariel Pagan-Romero, 31, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to 12 years in prison and five years of supervised release. In...

PROVIDENCE, RI – A Dominican national previously convicted in Massachusetts on drug trafficking charges and for illegally entering the United States was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Providence to eight years in federal prison for trafficking fentanyl, crack cocaine, and cocaine. In May 2018, Rhode Island State Police developed...