United States Drug Enforcement Administration

OMAHA, Neb. – The five state Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Omaha Division marked an 83 percent increase in the number of fentanyl pills seized in 2023 and removed an estimated 2.9 million lethal doses of fentanyl both in pill and powder form, from Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota...

T AMPA , Fla . – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced the unsealing of an indictment charging Santiago Gonzalez-Rodriguez (58, Louisville, KY) and Elier Sanchez-Suasteque (37, Lehigh Acres) with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute, and possession with the intent to distribute, five ( 5) kilograms...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla . – U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard sentenced Andrew Tyler Harp (31, St. Augustine) to 10 years in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon...

TAMPA, Fla . –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced the charging of Maximo Espinosa (44, Kissimmee) with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, and fentanyl. If convicted, Espinosa faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison. Because Espinosa was on federal supervised release at...

ORLANDO , F la. – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced the return of an indictment charging Jackie Jamal Hines (46, Melbourne) with possession with the intent to distribute five (5) kilograms or more of cocaine . If convicted, Hines faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, up...

ORLANDO , Fla . – U.S. District Judge Gregory A. Presnell sentenced Denisse Munoz-Mora (31, Mexico) to 18 months in federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute heroin. Munoz-Mora had pleaded guilty on October 25, 2023. Munoz-Mora’s conspirator, Irving Cepeda-Chico, previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced in 2021...

MIAMI – A south Florida defendant pled guilty to participating in a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a synthetic opioid, protonitazene. Will Catis, Sr. (Catis), 42, of Deerfield Beach, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal. According to the agreed upon factual proffer, on April 12, 2022...

OMAHA, Neb. – Steven T. Bell was named Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Omaha Division and began his time as the fourth director of the five-state territory, overseeing 11 offices in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota and eight counties along the...

TAMPA , F la. – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that Nestor Hugo Gomez-Garcia (38, Colombia), a/k/a “Simon,” “Guava,” and “Guavita,” pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute cocaine on vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, up...

JACKSONVILLE , Fla . - U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard sentenced Zachariah Ryan Luke (28, Bennettsville, South Carolina) to 15 years and 8 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute, and possess with the intent to distribute, 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a...