United States Drug Enforcement Administration

NEW ORLEANS – Today, Attorney General William P. Barr and Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Administrator Timothy J. Shea announced the results of Operation Crystal Shield, DEA’s six-month-long effort targeting the command and control elements of Mexican cartels that operate major methamphetamine “transportation hubs” in the United States. At a press...

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has developed an e-commerce outreach program aimed at reducing the availability of dangerous, often deadly, counterfeit prescription drugs in the United States. This DEA-led initiative focuses on educating online retailers about the sale of pill presses and components used in the production of...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Special Agent in Charge Keith Martin, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Detroit Field Division and Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) Mauricio Jimenez, Columbus Division Office, announced Central Ohio will become the 17th site where the DEA will implement its comprehensive Operation 360 initiative to address prescription misuse...

DETROIT – Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon today announced the publication of the 2019 National Drug Threat Assessment, which outlines the threats posed to the United States by domestic and international drug trafficking and the abuse of illicit drugs. “This year’s report illustrates a shifting drug landscape in...

BATON ROUGE, La. – The Drug Enforcement Administration yesterday announced that a member of a large drug trafficking organization was sentenced. Byron A. Lawson, age 40, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was sentenced as part of Operation Hidden Fee, an extensive federal, state, and local investigation by the Middle District Organized...

BATON ROUGE, La. – The leader of a large drug trafficking organization, James C. Hull, 41, of Baton Rouge, was sentenced as part of Operation Hidden Fee, an extensive federal, state and local investigation by the Middle District Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force aimed at a drug trafficking...

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – On Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019, Cyrus Phyfier, 51, of Montgomery, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for multiple drug and firearm related charges, announced DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Clay Morris, United States Attorney Louis V. Franklin, Sr., ATF Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson...

CINCINNATI – A federal grand jury has charged 36 individuals with crimes related to narcotics and money laundering conspiracies in an indictment that was unsealed today. Those charged include 22 local individuals. Law enforcement agents arrested all 36 defendants late last week and over the weekend. According to the indictment...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A federal judge today sentenced a Springville couple involved in a St. Clair County pill mill scheme, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge of the New Orleans Division Brad L. Byerley, U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, and IRS-Criminal Investigations Atlanta Field Office Special Agent in...

NEW ORLEANS – The Drug Enforcement Administration is alerting the public of dangerous counterfeit pills killing Americans. Mexican drug cartels are manufacturing mass quantities of counterfeit prescription pills containing fentanyl, a dangerous synthetic opioid that is lethal in minute doses, for distribution throughout North America. Based on a sampling of...