DEA Archived Press Releases

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

Heroin and Fentanyl Distributor Sentenced to More Than 33 Years in Federal Prison

Cedar Rapids - Cedar Rapids, Iowa, resident Brian Dennis was sentenced to more than 33 years in federal prison for leading a years-long conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl. Dennis received the prison term after his June 27, 2022, guilty pleas to one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin, two...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA Detroit Investigation Leads to Charges for 16 Individuals

DETROIT — An investigation out of the Drug Enforcement Administration Lansing Post of Duty has led to charges for 16 individuals for various drug distribution charges, Aug. 4. U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge announced 16 defendants were arrested and charged with drug-trafficking crimes arising out of the Lansing, Michigan area. Eight...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA Seizures of Heroin and Fentanyl Increase Across North Dakota in 2020

OMAHA, Neb. –Seizures of fentanyl and heroin made by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in North Dakota increased in 2020 with investigators seeing a 223 percent increase from 2019 in the two drugs combined. Fentanyl, estimated at approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA agents in Iowa take more than $2 million in drugs off streets

DES MOINES, Iowa – Agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration Des Moines Resident Office partnered with the Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, United States Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations to take down 21 high-ranking members of the Jesse Sanchez Drug Trafficking Organization based out of...
PRESS RELEASE

Three-day span in December nets 240 pounds of methamphetamine and more than $289,000 for DEA Omaha Division agents

OMAHA, Neb. – In a three-day span beginning Dec. 5, the DEA Omaha Division, in coordination with state and local law enforcement partners, arrested five people and seized 240 pounds of methamphetamine, two kilograms of heroin, one stolen handgun and $289,269 in drug profits. Four of the five arrests and...
PRESS RELEASE

Mixtecas motorcycle club member sentenced to 28 years in federal prison

OMAHA, Neb. – A 14-month investigation by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents in the Quad Cities Post of Duty helped put away 54-year old Mixtecas Motorcycle Club member Jerry Green for 28 years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to distribution of methamphetamine, possession of two pipe bombs, possession...
PRESS RELEASE

Ten people indicted for their roles in a conspiracy to traffic fentanyl stamped into pills, heroin, cocaine and other drugs from Mexico to Cleveland

CLEVELAND -- Ten people were indicted for their roles in a conspiracy in which the leader allegedly controlled large shipments of fentanyl stamped into pills, heroin, cocaine and other drugs from Mexico to Cleveland while using a cellular phone smuggled into his prison cell. Named in the 17-count indictment filed...
PRESS RELEASE

Ohio Man sentenced for attempting to murder witness with deadly heroin cocktail

CINCINNATI – A defendant was sentenced today in the first federally indicted carfentanil prosecution in the country. Phillip Watkins, 34, of Cincinnati, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 300 months in prison for conspiring to distribute heroin laced with carfentanil and attempting to murder a witness he believed...
PRESS RELEASE

Sentencing of California-based drug lord

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – United States Attorney Andrew Birge announced today that Alex Alberto Castro received 42 years in prison for conspiring to distribute heroin and cocaine. A federal jury convicted Castro in October 2018. He was the lead defendant of a 20-plus defendant drug trial. Chief United States District...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA Omaha Division feels effects of Sinaloa Cartel

OMAHA, Neb. –The February 12 conviction of Sinaloa Cartel drug trafficker Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman-Lorea serves as a reminder of the effect his organization has had on the five states that make up the Drug Enforcement Administration Omaha Division. Countless illicit drugs have made their way into local communities in...