DEA Archived Press Releases

Press Releases before January 20, 2025
61 Results - Showing 1 to 10
PRESS RELEASE

DEA’s OD Justice Devotes Critical Resources to Fatal Drug Poisoning and Overdose Death Investigations Across the United States

WASHINGTON – Operation OD Justice is a DEA initiative born out of a critical need to investigate drug poisoning and overdose deaths across the U.S. The initiative, launched in 2021 by DEA’s Los Angeles and San Diego Field Divisions, offers training, resources, and poisoning response coordinators to assist State and...
PRESS RELEASE

China-Based Chemical Manufacturing Companies and Employees Indicted for Alleged Fentanyl Manufacturing and Distribution

WASHINGTON – Eight China-based chemical companies and eight employees have been charged in the Middle District of Florida with federal crimes including attempted distribution of synthetic opioids and precursor chemicals used in the production of fentanyl. Five of the indictments also charge defendants with money laundering. “Today, the Justice Department...
PRESS RELEASE

Federal Indictment Alleges Alliance Between Sinaloa Cartel and Money Launderers Linked to Chinese Underground Banking

Washington - The Justice Department today announced a 10-count superseding indictment charging Los Angeles-based associates of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel with conspiring with money-laundering groups linked to Chinese underground banking to launder drug trafficking proceeds. During the conspiracy, more than $50 million in drug proceeds flowed between the Sinaloa Cartel...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA Issues Letter to E-Commerce Companies on the Sale of Pill Presses Used to Make Fentanyl Pills

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration today issued a letter to e-commerce companies regarding the sale of pill presses. As regulated entities under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), e-commerce platforms are generally required to comply with CSA recordkeeping, identification, and reporting requirements on the distribution, importation, and exportation of...
PRESS RELEASE

Major Supplier and Two Others Involved in the Carrollton / Flower Mound Juvenile Overdose Case Sentenced

DALLAS, TX - Three defendants were sentenced today to a combined 35 years in federal prison for their roles in the drug conspiracy that claimed the lives of three teenagers in North Texas. Jason Xavier Villanueva, 23, Robert Alexander Gaitan, 20, and Rafael Soliz, Jr., 23, were indicted in a...
PRESS RELEASE

Chickasha Man Sentenced to a Decade in Federal Prison for Distributing a Fentanyl Pill that Resulted in an Overdose

Oklahoma City, OK – Yesterday, Marcus Lamar Richardson, 23, of Chickasha, was sentenced to serve 120 months in federal prison for distribution of fentanyl. On November 15, 2022, Richardson was charged by Superseding Information with distribution of fentanyl. According to public record, on or about December 30, 2021, Richardson distributed...
PRESS RELEASE

Top Source of Supply in Juvenile Fentanyl Case Charged, Thousands of Pills Found Stuffed in Microwave

DALLAS, TX - A top source of supply in the Carrollton juvenile fentanyl case – which has resulted in at least 14 juvenile overdoses, four of them fatal – has been federally charged, announced DEA Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez. Julio Gonzalez, Jr., 18, was charged via criminal...
PRESS RELEASE

Fentanyl Distributors Charged Following Fourth Fatal Juvenile Overdose

Dallas, TX - Two distributors who supplied the fentanyl that killed a 15-year-old girl in Carrollton last week have been federally charged, announced Eduardo A. Chávez, Special Agent in Charge of DEA Dallas. The victim, is the fourth child to die of a fentanyl overdose in the area since September...
PRESS RELEASE

Fentanyl Trafficker Tied to Juvenile Overdoses Pleads Guilty

DALLAS, TX - A fentanyl trafficker tied to the rash of juvenile overdoses in Carrollton and Flower Mound pleaded guilty today to a drug crime, announced DEA Dallas Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez Magaly Mejia Cano, 29, was charged via criminal complaint in February. On Tuesday she pleaded...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA Operation Last Mile Tracks Down Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartel Associates Operating within the United States

DALLAS, TEXAS – Today, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced the results of a year-long national operation, “Operation Last Mile,” targeting operatives, associates, and distributors affiliated with the Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels responsible for the last mile of fentanyl and methamphetamine distribution on our streets and on social media...