DEA Archived Press Releases

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

Former U.S. Border Patrol Agent Sentenced to 87 Months in Prison for Attempting to Distribute Methamphetamine and Receiving Bribes

SAN DIEG O - Former U.S. Border Patrol Agent Hector Hernandez, who admitted that he took bribes to smuggle methamphetamine and people across the U.S.-Mexico border while on duty, was sentenced in federal court today to 87-months in prison. Hernandez pleaded guilty in January, admitting that he agreed to use...
PRESS RELEASE

Leader of Sophisticated Sinaloa Cartel Money Laundering Organization Sentenced to 120 Months

SAN DIEG O - Luis Reinaldo Ramirez of Mesa, Arizona, was sentenced in federal court today to 120 months in prison for his role as a leader in a transnational criminal organization that laundered $16.5 million dollars in narcotics proceeds for the Sinaloa Cartel. Ramirez was also sentenced for his...
PRESS RELEASE

Guatemalan Leader of Multi-Ton Cocaine Trafficking Organization Sentenced to Almost 22 Years in Prison

SAN DIEGO -Josue Adan Lemus-Lara, aka “Fenix,” was sentenced in federal court today to 260 months in prison. His sentence follows his conviction after a week-long jury trial in November 2023 where he was convicted on all charges in a maritime cocaine trafficking conspiracy. During a multi-year wiretap investigation led...
PRESS RELEASE

Alleged Drug Trafficker Wilder Emilio Sanchez Farfan Extradited from Colombia

SAN DIEG O - Wilder Emilio Sanchez Farfan, aka Gato, an Ecuadorian national and alleged drug trafficker, made his first appearance in federal court today following his extradition to the United States from Colombia yesterday. At the hearing, Sanchez Farfan entered a not guilty plea. U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara L...
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

SAN DIEGO – Today, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration 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. DEA’s...