United States Drug Enforcement Administration

CINCINNATI – A federal grand jury has charged a pharmaceutical distributor, two of its former officials and two pharmacists with conspiring to distribute controlled substances in an indictment returned here yesterday. Four individuals have been charged, including Miami-Luken’s former president and compliance officer and two West Virginia pharmacists. Those charged...

SAN DIEGO – April Spring Kelly admitted in federal court today that she smuggled more than 450,000 fentanyl pills from Mexico into the United States during a nine-month conspiracy from February to October of 2018. According to admissions in her plea agreement, Kelly smuggled the fentanyl pills through ports of...

DETROIT – A Detroit-area doctor was sentenced to 60 months in prison today for his role in a scheme to unlawfully distribute more than 23,000 pills of oxycodone. Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider of the Eastern District of Michigan...

CLEVELAND – The Drug Enforcement Administration has selected Cleveland as a DEA 360 city, offering additional resources focused on preventing drug abuse, with a particular emphasis on education about the dangers of opioids. The effort includes a website, a public awareness campaign, after-school activities and free presentations to schools and...

SAN DIEGO – Willian Estuardo Lemus Lara, a suspected high-level cartel boss from Central America, was arraigned in federal court today on maritime cocaine trafficking charges. According to the documents filed in court, Lemus was the manager of the transportation and distribution cell responsible for facilitating multi-ton quantity cocaine loads...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – On Friday, June 14, 2019, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federation of State Medical Boards hosted the Michigan Practitioner Diversion Awareness Training at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids. Drug overdoses are the leading cause of injury-related deaths in the United States and the...

CLEVELAND – Federal and state law enforcement agents executed search warrants today at numerous Rite Aid locations as part of an ongoing investigation into potential irregularities in dispensing practices. Anyone who believes they have information relevant to this matter is encouraged to contact the DEA via email at Cleveland.Diversion@usdoj.gov...

DAYTON, Ohio – A man helping orchestrate a methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin trafficking conspiracy was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 180 months in prison. A federal indictment unsealed in July 2018 charged Salvador Ramirez, 24, of West Chester, along with six other people with engaging in a drug...

LEMON GROVE, Calif. – Yesterday the United States Drug Enforcement Administration executed a federal search warrant at a warehouse located at 7648 Lemon Avenue, Lemon Grove, Calif., and uncovered a sophisticated hash oil refinery laboratory operation. Large quantities of ethanol were removed from the property by San Diego County HAZMAT...

SAN DIEGO – Indictments were unsealed today in San Diego federal court charging 43 members of a methamphetamine distribution network tied to the Sinaloa Cartel with federal drug trafficking and money laundering offenses. During the coordinated takedown that began early this morning, agents executed over a dozen search warrants. Agents...