United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SAN DIEGO - Chula Vista airplane broker Vicente Contreras-Amezquita of Chula Vista was sentenced today to 60 months in custody after Contreras-Amezuita pled in federal court to money laundering charges. In his plea he admitted helping hide the true origin of illegal money through the purchase of over 35 airplanes...

SAN DIEGO - The Drug Enforcement (DEA) will participate in the 17th Annual Red Ribbon Luncheon on October 12th which will be attended by more than 225 civic and business leaders, educators, law enforcement, government officials, and youth to honor and award San Diego County individuals and organizations for their...

SAN DIEGO - DEA Special Agent in Charge William R. Sherman and FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric S. Birnbaum invite the community to attend the screening of an impactful documentary film created to educate the community about opiate addiction. Event: Free Movie Screening: “Chasing the Dragon: The Life of...

SAN DIEGO - Jose Rafael Camacho-Ontiveros, the alleged leader of a Mexican heroin trafficking organization, was extradited to the United States by Mexico yesterday and made his first appearance in federal court this afternoon. A federal grand jury in San Diego returned an indictment on October 14, 2011, charging Camacho-Ontiveros...

SAN DIEGO - Sinaloa Cartel Cell Leader Damaso Lopez-Serrano, aka Mini Lic, was arraigned in federal court today following his self-surrender to United States law enforcement authorities at the Calexico West Port of Entry on July 27. Lopez-Serrano, 29, is believed to be the highest-ranking Mexican cartel leader ever to...

SAN DIEGO - A long-term investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has led to one of the nation’s largest seizures of the deadly synthetic opiate fentanyl and a federal indictment against three alleged traffickers. “The opioid crisis the country is facing right now makes this indictment all the more...

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Three defendants were sentenced to federal prison last week for drug trafficking, announced Drug Enforcement (DEA) Assistant Special Agent in Charge Matthew Barden and Kenneth Elser, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas. Santiago (aka Chuco), age 47, of Commerce, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 151...

SAN DIEGO - Physician Naga Raja Thota, a pain specialist with an office in El Cajon, pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday, admitting that he fraudulently and illegally wrote prescriptions for hundreds of oxycodone and hydrocodone tablets for patients with no medical necessity, one of whom was a sex partner...

SAN DIEGO - Roberto Ponce-Rocha was extradited from Colombia on November 17, 2016, where he had been arrested for charges arising out of his leadership role in a drug trafficking conspiracy involving the transportation of large-scale quantities of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine into the United States. As part of the...

SAN DIEGO - The final tally is in from the 12th National Prescription Take-Back Day which took place Saturday, October 22, and DEA and its partners took back nearly 8,000 pounds of prescription drugs at 39 locations in San Diego County and four in Imperial County. Over the course of...