United States Drug Enforcement Administration

MIAMI - On Sept. 3, Patrick Ward, 39, of Saint Lucie County, Fla., was sentenced to 75 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for trafficking fentanyl. The sentence comes after Ward previously pleaded guilty to distributing fentanyl on three separate occasions. According to...

MIAMI – A couple from Lake Worth, Fla., pled guilty to distributing fentanyl that resulted in the death of a baby and for being felons in unlawful possession of firearms. Today, Samantha Yi, 32, pled guilty to a superseding indictment charging Yi and her boyfriend Darnell Mendez with conspiracy to...

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has seen an increase in burglaries at independent pharmacies across the country. Nearly 900 burglaries involving the theft of controlled substances were reported to DEA in 2023. Stolen prescription medications adversely impact these small businesses while also putting patients and the community at...

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Mario Espino (25, Holiday) has pleaded guilty to five counts of a superseding indictment charging him with kidnapping, possessing methamphetamine and fentanyl with the intent to distribute, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Espino...

Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of four indictments charging a total of 12 individuals with murder in furtherance of drug trafficking, conspiracy to commit drug trafficking, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, illegal possession of firearms, and bank fraud...

TAMPA, Fla. – U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Joseph Marion, 41, of St. Petersburg, Fla., to life in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and crack cocaine; distributing fentanyl; distributing a mixture of fentanyl and heroin that resulted in serious bodily injury; and possessing...

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will recognize National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day on Wednesday, August 21 with extended DEA Museum hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Faces of Fentanyl exhibit is one of the museum’s featured exhibits, and commemorates the lives lost to fentanyl. More...

MIAMI – On July 29, Jordan Curry, 42, an Australian national from Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), pled guilty to participating in a conspiracy to launder money and import cocaine from South America through the United States to Australia. According to the agreed upon factual proffer, from 2019 to 2021...

WASHINGTON – The Benevolent Protective Order of the Elks’ Drug Awareness Program (DAP) in partnership with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) released Season 4 of the video podcast Awkward Conversations on August 7, 2024, on the DAP YouTube channel . Season 4 of Awkward Conversations will include 20 unscripted...

MIAMI – Former British Virgin Islands (BVI) Premier Andrew Alturo Fahie was sentenced yesterday to 135 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams after having been convicted at trial of cocaine trafficking and money laundering conspiracies for agreeing to facilitate the safe passage of tons of...