United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BOSTON – A Natick man has been convicted following a six-day jury trial in connection with fentanyl trafficking. During a search of the defendant’s apartment, the body of a missing 24-year-old woman who had died of a drug overdose was discovered. Rafael Ashworth, 29, was convicted of one count of...

BOSTON – A Philadelphia woman has been sentenced to eight days in prison for conspiring to distribute kilos of fentanyl and heroin. The government recommended a sentence of 37 months in prison. Elba Pena, 34, was sentenced on Feb. 1, 2024 by U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs to...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A Providence man with a lengthy criminal history, to include more than a dozen convictions for a wide variety of offenses, including breaking and entering, drug trafficking, domestic violence, forgery and counterfeiting, larceny, armed bank robbery, and carrying a concealed weapon, was sentenced today to five years...

BOSTON – A Malden man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for distributing methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement officer. David Desousa, 33, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to 10 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. In...

BURLINGTON, Vt. – eBay Inc, an e-commerce company headquartered in San Jose, California, has agreed to pay $59 million and to enhance its compliance program to resolve allegations that it violated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) in connection with thousands of pill presses and encapsulating machines that were sold through...

DENVER – Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45. In calendar year 2023, DEA seized nationally more than 77 million fentanyl pills and nearly 12,000 pounds of fentanyl powder. This is the most fentanyl seized by DEA in a single...

CONCORD, N.H. – A Maine man pleaded guilty in federal court in Concord in connection to trafficking approximately14 kilograms (30 pounds) of methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces. Brian Strout, 46, of Turner, Maine, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, namely methamphetamine. Chief Judge Landya McCafferty scheduled...

BOSTON – A Venezuelan man has been sentenced for laundering drug trafficking proceeds from around the world. Manuel Calderin Calderin, 40, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to 27 months in prison and one year of supervised release. In October 2023, Calderin Calderin pleaded guilty to...

CONCORD, N.H. – A Manchester woman has pleaded guilty in federal court for her role in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl in New Hampshire. She is the third of the 22 defendants in the conspiracy to plead guilty, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces. Alesha Neault, age 38, pleaded guilty...

BOSTON – A Lynn man was sentenced federal court in Boston for his role in a North Shore-based drug trafficking organization (DTO) that manufactured and distributed thousands of counterfeit prescription pills containing narcotics. Erick Solis Lopez, 25, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to...