DEA Archived Press Releases

Press Releases before January 20, 2025
3251 Results - Showing 1 to 10
PRESS RELEASE

Four People Sentenced to Prison for Distributing Fentanyl

MIAMI – Four South Florida residents have been sentenced to federal prison for distributing fentanyl and meth. On Jan. 16, Gito St. Fort, 35, of West Palm Beach, Fla., a career criminal, was sentenced to 320 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to distribution of a controlled substance resulting...
PRESS RELEASE

Leaders of Colombian Drug Trafficking Organization Plead Guilty to Conspiring to Smuggle over 43,000 Kilos of Cocaine into the United States

TAMPA, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Jorge Hernan Gonzalez-Ortiz, 50, of Colombia, and Carlos Andres Aldana-Gil, 43, also of Colombia, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States. Each faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. A sentencing date...
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

Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Selling Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Opioids

MIAMI– On Dec. 10, Blake Alfonso Kolessa, 27, of Greenacres, Fla., was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks for possessing with intent to distribute metonitazene, N-desethyl isotonitazene, and methamphetamine. Kolessa previously pled guilty...
PRESS RELEASE

Former Fugitive Found Guilty at Trial of Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Billy Ruiz (46, California) guilty of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Ruiz faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each count. His...
PRESS RELEASE

West Haven Woman Who Diverted Narcotics from Dying VA Medical Center Patients is Sentenced

HARTFORD, Conn. - Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that TARA SEVERINO, 58, of West Haven, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to two years of probation, the first six months of which Severino must serve...
PRESS RELEASE

Indictment Charges New Haven Man with Cocaine Trafficking Offense

HARTFORD, Conn. - Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, today announced that a federal grand jury in Hartford has returned an indictment charging ROBERTO LOZADA, also known as Roberto...
PRESS RELEASE

Rhode Island Man Sentenced To Prison For Fentanyl Trafficking Conspiracy

BOSTON – A Cranston, R.I. man was sentenced in federal court in Boston for his involvement in a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that distributed fentanyl throughout Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Mario Rafael Dominguez-Ortiz, 27, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs to one year and a...
PRESS RELEASE

Springfield Man Sentenced to 7 Years in Federal Prison for Trafficking Fentanyl and Cocaine While on Supervised Release

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that YOANNI SUAREZ, also known as “Cuba,” 48, last residing in Springfield, Massachusetts, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 84 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of...
PRESS RELEASE

Hartford Man Admits Trafficking Crystal Meth

HARTFORD, Conn. - Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced GODFREY SMITH, also known as “Mike” and “Mikey, 41, of Hartford, pleaded guilty today in Bridgeport federal court to a methamphetamine trafficking charge. According to court documents and statements made in court, in April 2024...