United States Drug Enforcement Administration

HOUSTON – As part of its continuing efforts to reduce drug misuse and overdose, the Drug Enforcement Administration is launching a winter campaign urging the public to “Secure Your Meds.” The current health crisis has magnified the importance of addressing the issue of controlled prescription drug misuse. With Americans spending...

ORLANDO, Fla. – A federal jury found Jerimiah Swanson (22, Cocoa) guilty of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl. Swanson faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 5 years, and up to 40 years, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for...

Federal, state and local authorities have arrested eight individuals on federal drug trafficking charges, including 41-year-old Texas Syndicate Lieutenant Hilario Nieto who previously received a pardon from President Barack Obama, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Steven S. Whipple, Houston Division; U.S. Attorney Gregg N. Sofer...

WASHINGTON – A Houston-area pain clinic owner and a clinic employee who posed as a physician were sentenced to 240 months and 96 months in prison, respectively, today for their roles at a “pill mill” where they and their coconspirator illegally prescribed hundreds of thousands of doses of opioids and...

TAMPA, Fla. - Adan Barajas Maldonado (35, Mexico) was sentenced to 25 years in prison for conspiring to distribute controlled substances and for possessing a gun to further his drug trafficking enterprise. Maldonado had pleaded guilty on October 30, 2019. Edwar Rodriguez (32, New York), one of Maldonado’s assistants, was...

Federal, state and local authorities have arrested 13 individuals, including current and former University of Texas (UT) students, charged in connection with trafficking LSD, fentanyl and methamphetamine pills to UT students in Austin. That announcement was made today by U.S. Attorney Gregg N. Sofer; Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent...

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Gustavo Adolfo Pareja, 26, of Cali, Colombia, pled guilty today to conspiracy to import 50 kilograms of cocaine for distribution in the United States. Pareja was extradited by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida last month as a result of an extensive...

HOUSTON – A 28-year-old Mexican citizen who illegally resided in Houston is set to appear in federal court on charges of conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute meth, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Steven S. Whipple, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Eduardo Leon-Mata...

HOUSTON – A total of eight people have been taken into custody on charges involving a five-year drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracies, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Steven S. Whipple, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Federal authorities arrested Houston residents Brenda Natalie...

BEAUMONT, Texas - Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Steven S. Whipple, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Stephen Cox of the Eastern District of Texas today announced the expansion of the Criminal Division, Fraud Section’s existing Gulf Coast Health Care Fraud Strike Force to include the Eastern District...