United States Drug Enforcement Administration

PHOENIX - The U.S. Marshals (USMS) coordinated “OPERATION JUSTICE V” during the week of April 15, 2013, arresting and booking 231 individuals with outstanding felony warrants. U.S. Marshals, state, local and federal partners collaborated to honor the victims of crime in Maricopa and Pinal County, in recognition of National Crime...

PHOENIX - Drug Enforcement (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Doug Coleman and U.S. Attorney John S. Leonardo, District of Arizona announced today, that Indalecio Castro-Ponce, 40, of San Luis, Ariz., was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and two counts of possession...

PHOENIX - Robert Gene White, 45, of Chandler, Ariz. was found guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana and less than 500 grams of cocaine, conspiracy to commit money laundering and three counts of transactional money laundering. Nadunt Chibeast, 61, of Tempe...

DALLAS - CVS Pharmacy, Inc., and Oklahoma CVS Pharmacy, L.L.C., (collectively “CVS”), have agreed to pay $11,000,000 to the United States to settle civil penalty claims for record-keeping violations under the Controlled Substances Act and related regulations, announced Administrator Michele M. Leonhart of the Drug Enforcement (DEA) and Sanford C...

PHOENIX - Drug Enforcement (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Doug Coleman announced today the unsealing of an indictment against Jose Guadalupe Tapia-Quintero, 42, a Mexican national and high ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel. Tapia-Quintero was indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2013 on various counts including Conspiracy...

PHOENIX - On Feb. 4, 2013, Robert Francis Dayaye, Jr. (a.k.a. “Fat Rob”), 33, of Whiteriver, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judges Neil V. Wake and G. Murray Snow to a combined term of imprisonment of 15 years. Dayaye pleaded guilty on Oct. 5, 2102, to possession with intent...

FORT WORTH, Texas - Following an afternoon of testimony before U.S. District Judge John McBryde, and five hours of deliberation, a federal jury convicted Josue Martinez-Garcia, aka “Cholo,” of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine. Martinez-Garcia, 29, of Fort Worth, Texas, faces...

PHOENIX - U.S. Drug Enforcement (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Doug Coleman and Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk announced today that Judge Michael Bluff of the Yavapai County Superior Court has granted a Permanent Injunction to ban all known retailers from selling synthetic drugs in Yavapai County. Judge Bluff signed...

PHOENIX - On December 19, 2012, Doug Coleman, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement (DEA) Phoenix Field Division and U.S. Attorney John S. Leonardo announced that Francisco Alfredo Montes-Vargas, of Culiacan, Mexico, was sentenced to 292 months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised...

PHOENIX - On April 25, 2012, a federal grand jury in Phoenix returned a 76 count superseding indictment against 11 defendants charging them with multiple crimes including conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, structuring financial transactions through a domestic financial institution and promotional money laundering. The defendants are...