DEA Archived Press Releases

Press Releases before January 20, 2025
68 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

Mexican National Living in Hialeah Sentenced to Over Eight Years in Federal Prison for Attempting to Purchase Five Kilograms of Cocaine

MIAMI – Drug trafficker, Pablo Alexander Reyes-Sanchez, a 33-year-old Mexican national, was sentenced in federal court in Miami to 97 months in prison by Chief United States District Court Cecilia M. Altonaga. Reyes-Sanchez brokered a deal involving the purchase of five kilograms of cocaine for $160,000. Reyes-Sanchez traveled to Miami...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA Reveals Criminal Drug Networks Are Flooding the U.S. with Deadly Fentanyl

MIAMI - As U.S. overdose deaths reach a devastating new height, claiming a new victim every five minutes, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has revealed a direct link between fentanyl-related overdose deaths and criminal drug networks in Mexico. These groups are harnessing social media platforms to bring drugs laced with...
PRESS RELEASE

Nassau County Repeat Offender Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug Offense

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Shawn Andrew Wilson (47, Fernandina Beach) pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. Wilson faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 5 years, and up to, 40 years in federal prison. According...
PRESS RELEASE

Juries Return Guilty Verdicts Against Couple for Murdering Government Witness

OCALA, Fla. – Following eight days of trial in federal court, David Chappell Fey (57, Belleview) and Shari Lynn Gunter (58, Ocklawaha) have each been found guilty as charged for the murder of a government witness. The trial required special accommodations: a separate jury heard evidence for each defendant. In...
PRESS RELEASE

Naples Doctor Who Operated a Pill Mill Sentenced to Three Years in Federal Prison

FORT MYERS, Fla. – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell today sentenced Gerald Michael Abraham, 76, of Naples, Florida. to three years in federal prison for dispensing controlled substances (oxycodone and amphetamine) for no legitimate medical purpose. The court also ordered Abraham to forfeit the following items to the United...
PRESS RELEASE

Leader of Cocaine Conspiracy Sentenced to More than 10 Years in Federal Prison

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis today sentenced Eddie “Macho” Martinez-Marquez (33, Kissimmee) to 10 years and 1 month in federal prison for conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. As part of his sentence, the court...