United States Drug Enforcement Administration

LOS ANGELES – Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a Public Safety Alert warning Americans of the alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. DEA’s Public Safety Alert, the first in six years, seeks to raise public awareness of a significant nationwide...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Javier Jaquez, 50, of Albuquerque, was sentenced on Aug. 26 to 32 years in federal prison. On Sept. 18, 2020, Jaquez pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 100 grams and more of heroin, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and being...

PECOS, Texas – A federal jury convicted a Dallas man last Thursday for possessing methamphetamine. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Oscar Santiago Garcia Sanchez, 32, drove a vehicle with a trailer filled with ceramic art pieces into the Presidio Port of Entry. During inspection, Customs and...

LOS ANGELES – A High Desert physician remains in federal custody today after his arrest Wednesday on charges of illegally dispensing prescriptions for often-abused controlled substances – including opioid-based medications – during telemedicine sessions with “patients” from across the United States. Dr. Raphael Tomas Malikian, 36, who resides in Llano...

EL PASO – A federal grand jury in El Paso returned an indictment last week charging an El Paso man with distribution of a controlled substance causing death. According to court documents, on or about March 11, 2019, Michael Martinez, 30, distributed oxymorphone, also known as numorphan, to another individual...

EL PASO – A former El Paso police officer pleaded guilty on Aug. 9, 2021 to conspiracy to maintain a drug-involved premise. According to court documents, Monica Garcia, 24, conspired with Fred Saenz, her stepfather and co-defendant, to use Saenz’s residence to distribute cocaine. Agents determined that Saenz was using...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – John Seibel, 25, Robert Pettit, 51, and Barbara Dockery, 64, all of Albuquerque, appeared in federal court June 17 for their roles in a drug trafficking organization run by Seibel, i.e, the Seibel DTO. Detention hearings for each defendant are scheduled for June 21. On June 9...

RIVERSIDE, CA – Law enforcement authorities today arrested 12 defendants charged in a federal grand jury indictment alleging they conspired to traffic large quantities of methamphetamine from their suppliers in Mexico into and throughout the Inland Empire. The 19-count indictment charges a total of 19 defendants with one count of...

EL PASO – Today federal authorities arrested 60-year-old Dr. Brian James August of El Paso for allegedly committing health care fraud and distributing controlled substances that resulted in the overdose deaths of five individuals. A 15-count federal grand jury indictment, unsealed upon his arrest, charges Dr. August with five counts...

LOS ANGELES – Federal authorities today announced 11 criminal cases against alleged drug dealers who sold or provided narcotics to users who suffered fatal overdoses from opioids such as fentanyl or fentanyl analogues. As a result of the operation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, each of the 12 defendants...