United States Drug Enforcement Administration

PORTLAND, Ore . – Paul Eugene Thomas, 38, of Portland, pleaded guilty on April 10, 2019, to one count of conspiring to manufacture, possess with intent to distribute, distributing marijuana, maintaining drug involved premises and one count of money laundering for his role in a vast conspiracy to traffic marijuana...

PORTLAND, Ore.—Esteban Guillen Ramirez, 53, of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, was sentenced on April 7, 2019, to one year in federal prison and three years’ supervised release for his role in a complex black market peso exchange money laundering scheme. The scheme was uncovered in 2015 following a lengthy investigation by...

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – Marcella Moore, 44, of Lewiston, Idaho, was sentenced to federal prison earlier today for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye sentenced Moore to 54 months in prison followed by three years supervised release. Judge Nye also ordered Moore to pay...

OMAHA, Neb., – The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will host its 17th annual National Take Back Day, Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at designated sites across the nation where individuals can dispose of unwanted, unused and expired medications in a safe and secure location. Since the first National...

SEATTLE – Three members of an international drug trafficking organization pleaded guilty on March 25, 2019, in U.S. District Court in Seattle to distributing more than a thousand kilograms of marijuana. The defendants admitted in their plea agreements that they used money from conspirators in the Peoples Republic of China...

SPOKANE, Wash. – Dr. James Stein-Sheridan Shelby, 50, of Spokane, pled guilty on March 20, 2019, to conspiring with Timothy James Felch, 36, also of Spokane, to distribute opioid pain medications, hydrocodone and tramadol, without a legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional practice. Shelby also pleaded...

BISMARCK, N.D. – DEA Omaha Division Special Agent in Charge Richard Salter, Jr., testified at the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Oversight Hearing at the United Tribal Technical College gymnasium in Bismarck, N.D., March 20. One of three federal representatives called to testify at the four-hour hearing, Salter discussed DEA’s...

OMAHA, Neb. – Sigourney Elementary School Principal Deanna Hutchings was presented a $1,000 check by Drug Enforcement Administration Des Moines Resident Office staff, March 18, after Wells and Owen Clark and their family were recognized as one of 20 2018 Red Ribbon Week Photo Contest winners. To qualify for the...

OMAHA, Neb., – East Butler Public School in Brainard, Neb., was presented a $1,000 check by Drug Enforcement Administration Omaha Division staff, Feb. 22, after sixth grader Chance Rohda and his family were recognized as one of 20 2018 Red Ribbon Week Photo Contest winners. To qualify for the eighth...

OMAHA, Neb. –The February 12 conviction of Sinaloa Cartel drug trafficker Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman-Lorea serves as a reminder of the effect his organization has had on the five states that make up the Drug Enforcement Administration Omaha Division. Countless illicit drugs have made their way into local communities in...