DEA Archived Press Releases

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

U.S. Attorney's Office Secures Guilty Pleas in Albuquerque Fentanyl Case

ALBUQUERQUE – Two Albuquerque drug dealers pleaded guilty to federal charges after attempting to sell 30,000 fentanyl pills, containing approximately 3,200 grams of the drug, to an undercover law enforcement agent. According to court documents, on December 6, 2023, Miguel Antonio Ramirez, 23, and Isaiah Anthony Aragon, 24, conspired to...
PRESS RELEASE

Sheriff’s Deputies Allegedly Tipped Off DEA Target

Two sheriff’s deputies who allegedly tipped off a drug trafficker about an impending DEA raid are being federally prosecuted, announced DEA Special Agent in Charge Towanda R. Thorne-James, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Raul Bujanda. Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office...
PRESS RELEASE

Final Defendant Arrested During 2023 Joint Enforcement Operation in Carlsbad Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug Offenses

ALBUQUERQUE – The last of the eight defendants indicted following a joint law enforcement operation in Carlsbad last year pleaded guilty to federal drug offenses in federal court yesterday. Jesus Alonso Cerezo-Espidio , 51, of Carlsbad, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute 5 grams and more of...
PRESS RELEASE

Three Defendants Arrested During 2023 Joint Enforcement Operation in Carlsbad Plead Guilty to Federal Drug Offenses

ALBUQUERQUE – Three of the eight defendants indicted following a joint enforcement operation last year in Carlsbad, pleaded guilty in federal court to federal drug offenses. Carlos Venegas, Jr., 24, of Carlsbad, pleaded guilty on March 4, 2024, to one count each of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams and more...
PRESS RELEASE

Two More Defendants Arrested During 2023 Joint Enforcement Operation in Carlsbad Plead Guilty to Federal Drug Offenses

ALBUQUERQUE – Towanda R. Thorne-James, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's El Paso Division, and Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Kassandra Lee Perales and Jared Michael Moore, two of the 12 defendants arrested during a joint enforcement...
PRESS RELEASE

Two Defendants Arrested During 2023 Joint Enforcement Operation in Carlsbad Plead Guilty to Conspiracy Charges

Note: View Purdy’s Plea Agreement . View Maldonado’s Plea Agreement . ALBUQUERQUE – Towanda R. Thorne-James, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration El Paso Division, and Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Brian Kain Purdy and Sabino Alfonso...
PRESS RELEASE

El Paso Drug Dealer Pleads Guilty to Causing Fentanyl Overdose Death

EL PASO, Texas – An El Paso man pleaded guilty in a federal court in El Paso to one count of distribution of fentanyl, causing death or serious bodily injury. According to court documents, Christian Torres, 24, was the supplier of counterfeit M-30 pills containing fentanyl at his residence on...
PRESS RELEASE

Three Men Pled Guilty to Federal Charges Involving Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Gregory M. Millard, Special Agent in Charge for the DEA El Paso Division, announced today that Kamal Bhula, Pragneshkumar Patel and Johnathan Craft pled guilty to drug and firearms charges arising from a drug...
PRESS RELEASE

Dallas Woman Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Non-U.S. Citizens Resulting in Migrant’s Death

EL PASO, Texas – A Dallas woman pleaded guilty in a federal court in El Paso Wednesday to charges in connection to her role as a stash house operator and coordinator of a human smuggling organization operating in far west Texas. According to court documents, Elizabeth Miranda Lozano, 39, joined...
PRESS RELEASE

Convicted Felon Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking

According to court documents, in March and April 2022, Calvin Ray Brown, 50, and a co-conspirator sold counterfeit pressed pills containing fentanyl to a Fairfax County Police Department confidential source and undercover detective on multiple occasions. When a search warrant was executed on Brown’s residence, officers recovered 999 counterfeit pressed...