DEA Archived Press Releases

Press Releases before January 20, 2025
86 Results - Showing 1 to 10
PRESS RELEASE

Four People Sentenced to Prison for Distributing Fentanyl

MIAMI – Four South Florida residents have been sentenced to federal prison for distributing fentanyl and meth. On Jan. 16, Gito St. Fort, 35, of West Palm Beach, Fla., a career criminal, was sentenced to 320 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to distribution of a controlled substance resulting...
PRESS RELEASE

Leaders of Colombian Drug Trafficking Organization Plead Guilty to Conspiring to Smuggle over 43,000 Kilos of Cocaine into the United States

TAMPA, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Jorge Hernan Gonzalez-Ortiz, 50, of Colombia, and Carlos Andres Aldana-Gil, 43, also of Colombia, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States. Each faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. A sentencing date...
PRESS RELEASE

Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Selling Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Opioids

MIAMI– On Dec. 10, Blake Alfonso Kolessa, 27, of Greenacres, Fla., was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks for possessing with intent to distribute metonitazene, N-desethyl isotonitazene, and methamphetamine. Kolessa previously pled guilty...
PRESS RELEASE

Former Fugitive Found Guilty at Trial of Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Billy Ruiz (46, California) guilty of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Ruiz faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each count. His...
PRESS RELEASE

Honduran Nationals Charged With Drug Trafficking Arrived In South Florida After Being Extradited

MIAMI - Two Honduran nationals were extradited from Honduras to the United States as a result of their alleged participation in a large-scale drug trafficking organization that operates in the western portion of Honduras. These individuals allegedly knew that the large amounts of cocaine they were trafficking would end up...
PRESS RELEASE

Orlando Cocaine Trafficker Sentenced To 15 Years

ORLANDO, Fla. - Senior U.S. District Judge G. Kendall Sharp has sentenced Garry (48, Orlando) to 15 years in federal prison for cocaine trafficking. The Court also ordered him to forfeit approximately $611,613, two automobiles, and his home on South Buena Vista Avenue in Orlando, all of which were either...
PRESS RELEASE

Lakeland Cocaine Dealer Sentenced To 10 Years For Cocaine Trafficking

ORLANDO, Fla. - U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. yesterday sentenced Kesner (53, Lakeland) to ten years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Joly pleaded guilty on September 3, 2014. According to court documents, Joly was a kilogram-level cocaine distributor in the central Florida area. On multiple...
PRESS RELEASE

“Molly” Trafficking Ring Dismantled, Leader Sentenced To More Than Twelve Years In Prison

ORLANDO, Fla. - U.S. District Judge G. Kendall Sharp sentenced Justin Brian (28, Orlando) yesterday to 12 years and 7 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute Methylone. He pleaded guilty on July 7, 2014. Six additional members of the drug trafficking ring previously pleaded guilty and were also...
PRESS RELEASE

Federal Jury Finds Tampa Pill Mill Pharmacist Guilty

TAMPA, Fla. - A.D. Wright, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement (DEA), Miami Field Division, and A. Lee Bentley, III, United States Attorney announces that a federal jury has found Brian C. (56, Melbourne) guilty of conspiracy to distribute and dispense oxycodone outside the usual course of professional practice...
PRESS RELEASE

Fifteen Suspects Entangled In Operation Synthetic Web

MIAMI - The Drug Enforcement (DEA), Miami Field Division working in conjunction with the Palm Beach Sheriff’s (PBSO), Broward County Sheriff’s (BSO), Hendry County Sheriff’s (HCSO), Pembroke Pines Police (PPPD), City of Miami Gardens Police (MGPD), and the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution conducted an investigation into an organized...