DEA Archived Press Releases

Press Releases before January 20, 2025
316 Results - Showing 81 to 90
PRESS RELEASE

Eleven arrested in DEA and AZDPS joint enforcement operation targeting Tucson drug traffickers

TUCSON, Ariz. – The Drug Enforcement Administration announced today the arrest of 11 people as the result of the culmination of a year-long joint investigation by the DEA’s Sierra Vista Resident Office along with the Arizona Department of Public Safety’s Border Strike Force, into the alleged drug trafficking activities of...
PRESS RELEASE

Nearly 170,000 deadly fentanyl pills seized by DEA Task Force, Phoenix PD and Arizona DPS

PHOENIX – During an investigation into the drug trafficking activities of 24-year old Marcelino Ontiveros Quintero, DEA Task Force agents and detectives seized approximately 169,150 lethal fentanyl pills from Quintero and his associate, one of the largest fentanyl pill seizures in the state. The DEA Task Force, led by a...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA issues warning over counterfeit prescription pills from Mexico

PHOENIX – The Drug Enforcement Administration is alerting the public of dangerous counterfeit pills killing Americans. Mexican drug cartels are manufacturing mass quantities of counterfeit prescription pills containing fentanyl, a dangerous synthetic opioid that is lethal in minute doses, for distribution throughout North America. Based on a sampling of tablets...
PRESS RELEASE

Over six tons of prescription drugs and vaping devices collected in DEA Take Back

PHOENIX – The DEA’s Phoenix Division has finished totaling the amount of drugs collected from those agencies who participated in the October 26th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Arizonans turned out in massive numbers and disposed of 12,371.58 pounds, over six tons, of prescription drugs and vaping products. This...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA Arizona announces 18th National Prescription Drug Take Back

PHOENIX – DEA officials in Arizona announce the 18th National Prescription Drug Take-Back will take place October 26th, from 10 am-2 pm local time. Sites will be set up throughout communities statewide so local residents can anonymously return their unwanted, unneeded, or expired prescription drugs for safe disposal. New to...
PRESS RELEASE

The DEA deploys “360 Strategy” in Northern Arizona’s Yavapai-Apache Nation to address heroin, prescription drug abuse and violent crime in the area

PHOENIX – The Drug Enforcement Administration has joined with the Yavapai-Apache Nation in Northern Arizona to deploy DEA’s 360 strategy in the tribal nation and surrounding rural area. The DEA 360 program was developed by DEA in 2015 to address the heroin and the opioid drug crisis across the nation...
PRESS RELEASE

Phoenix mother indicted, accused of using 13-year-old daughter to hide cocaine

PHOENIX - The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Phoenix Division and the Arizona Attorney General's Office announced the indictment of Rufina Lopez Covarruvia by a State Grand Jury for allegedly using her 13-year-old daughter to try and hide cocaine from officers during a traffic stop. Covarruvia is charged with multiple felony...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA targets sentenced to prison following dark web drug trafficking investigation

PHOENIX – Last week, Kevin Dean McCoy, 28, of Tucson, Ariz., was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and launder proceeds from drug distribution. McCoy was the final defendant to receive their sentence following a federal DEA investigation into the dark...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA Alerts: Over one million deadly fentanyl pills seized by DEA Phoenix and Arizona law enforcement this year

PHOENIX – United States Drug Enforcement Administration Phoenix Division Special Agent in Charge Doug Coleman is alerting all citizens to the cumulative seizure of approximately 1,138,288 illicitly manufactured fentanyl pills by DEA’s Phoenix Field Division and law enforcement agencies in Arizona so far this fiscal year. In comparison, approximately 380,000...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA agents arrest Tucson woman on federal charges for selling fentanyl resulting in three overdoses, one victim died

PHOENIX – DEA Phoenix Division Special Agent in Charge Doug Coleman announces the arrest of Jocelyn Lopez-Sanchez, a 22-year old Tucson woman who is now in custody following an indictment obtained by DEA agents Wednesday afternoon. Lopez-Sanchez was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 1, 2019. The indictment...