United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SANTA ANA, Calif. - A San Clemente man pleaded guilty this morning to federal drug trafficking and tax offenses in relation to a string of nine illegal marijuana storefronts that generated millions of dollars in income. John Melvin Walker, also known as “Pops,” 56, of San Clemente, pleaded guilty to...

MARCH 20 - RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Federal and state authorities this morning arrested 10 defendants charged in a federal criminal complaint that accuses them of participating in a wide-ranging drug conspiracy that operated marijuana grow houses across Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. As part of the investigation led...

LOS ANGELES - A member of the Mexican Mafia prison gang and longtime leader of the Puente-13 criminal street gang was sentenced on March 6, 2013, to life in federal prison after being convicted last year on federal racketeering charges that included a brutal stabbing designed to deter victims from...

LOS ANGELES - Two men, and the import-export company they allegedly used to move millions of dollars linked to illegal activity from the United States to Mexico, are scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon after being indicted on federal charges of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and structuring cash...

SAN DIEGO - Twelve suspected members of a methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking ring were arrested early Wednesday and today at the culmination of a yearlong investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Major Mexican Traffickers’ Strike Force. All but two of the defendants appeared in federal court this afternoon...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - The leader of a drug trafficking organization based in the Inland Empire was sentenced today to 168 months of imprisonment by United States District Judge Virginia A. Phillips. Salvador Gonzalez-Chavez, 32, Fontana, was convicted last September of conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, heroin...

- SAN DIEGO - A man who created two medical marijuana dispensaries and a phony board of directors as a front for a multimillion-dollar drug trafficking operation was sentenced today to serve 100 months in federal prison. The defendant was immediately remanded into custody. Joshua John Hester of San Diego...

JAN 15 - LOS ANGELES - A “keyholder” who oversaw the criminal activities of the Azusa 13 street gang and its long-running plot to violate the civil rights of African-Americans in the City of Azusa was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison. Santiago Rios, also known as “Chico,” 48...

SAN DIEGO - On December 13, 2012, San Diego Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Special Agent in Charge William R. Sherman and San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis announced the results of a 21-month operation, dubbed Operation Knight Stalker, which targeted legacy members of the La Familia Michoacá(LFM) drug cartel...

DEC 6 - LOS ANGELES - Law enforcement authorities this morning arrested 18 defendants named in three federal grand jury indictments stemming from Operation Roman Empire, a 2½-year investigation into South Los Angeles street gangs allegedly controlled by a Mexican Mafia member who directs criminal activities through his daughter. A...