United States Drug Enforcement Administration

DETROIT – Today, Attorney General William P. Barr announced the launch of Operation Relentless Pursuit, an initiative aimed at combating violent crime in seven of America’s most violent cities through a surge in federal resources. Joined at a press conference in Detroit by DEA Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon, ATF Acting...

PORTLAND, Ore .—David Carl Paulsen, 33, of Bend, Oregon, was sentenced on Dec.10, 2019, to 12 months and one day in federal prison and two years’ supervised release for illegally manufacturing and possessing marijuana during a March 2018 butane honey oil explosion in Bend. According to court documents, on March...

SEATTLE – Two Skagit County residents are charged in U.S. District Court in Seattle in connection with a drug distribution ring selling fake oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl in Whatcom and Skagit Counties. The pills are linked to the overdose death of a 17-year-old Bellingham teen. Rosaliana Lopez-Rodriguez, 21, of...

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...

SEATTLE - Jaime Montalvo-Mariscal, 27, of Pasco, Washington, was sentenced Nov. 18, 2019, after having pleaded guilty on July 22, 2019, for conspiracy to traffic in methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin. Senior U.S. District Judge Nielsen sentenced Montalvo-Mariscal to 210 months in prison. DEA Special Agent in Charge Keith Weis was...

WASHINGTON – 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 tablets...

WASHINGTON – Americans nationwide have once again shown their strong support for DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day by dropping off nearly 883,000 pounds of medications during the October 2019 Take Back event. DEA, along with its law enforcement partners, has now collected nearly 12.7 million pounds of expired...

WASHINGTON – The U.S Postal Service today revealed the “Drug Free USA Forever” stamp in conjunction with Red Ribbon Week, the nation’s oldest and largest drug use prevention awareness program. The stamp will be available for sale in October 2020. Earlier this year, DEA and the National Family Partnership submitted...

WASHINGTON – The Drug Enforcement Administration today announced proposed regulations to improve DEA’s ability to oversee the production of dangerous drugs at the height of the national opioid crisis. This proposed regulation would further limit excess quantities of medications that might be vulnerable to diversion for illicit distribution and use...

SEATTLE - Federal, state and local law enforcement fanned out across the Puget Sound region today arresting 17 people in connection with multiple counts of drug trafficking. The drug trafficking organization brought large loads of heroin and methamphetamine into the Seattle area. In one instance law enforcement seized 33 pounds...