United States Drug Enforcement Administration

CHICAGO – Robert J. Bell, Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Chicago Division, announces the Red Ribbon Celebration during the week of October 23-31, which coincides with DEA’s 19 th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on October 24, 2020. Red Ribbon Week raises awareness...

WASHINGTON – Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Administrator Timothy J. Shea today announced that the DEA will direct resources to help reduce violent crime in communities throughout the country. Under this initiative, called Project Safeguard, DEA will identify and prioritize ongoing drug trafficking investigations with a nexus to violent crime. “Drug...

WASHINGTON – DEA is holding its 19th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, Oct. 24 at locations across the country. The nationwide event aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Kristopher Wade Parker, 36, of Carlsbad, New Mexico, was sentenced on Oct. 14 in federal court to five-and-a-half years in prison for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession of a firearm in the furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Parker pleaded guilty on Oct. 25...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Toby Randall Walker, 36, appeared in federal court in Albuquerque on Oct. 1 on multiple drug and firearm charges brought under the Department of Justice’s Operation LeGend. According to a criminal complaint, on Sept. 29, agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration encountered Walker and located 1,490 grams...

MADISON, Wis. – Robert J. Bell, DEA Special Agent in Charge, Chicago Division, and Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Travis Hanson, 40, Eau Claire, Wisconsin was sentenced on Friday, September 25, 2020 by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 10...

TERRE HAUTE – DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Michael Gannon said, “On September 15, 2020, an alert citizen noticed six duffle bags in the grass area off of Interstate-70 East by mile marker 37 (halfway between Terre Haute and Indianapolis, Indiana). Upon receiving the information, members of the Putnam...

MILWAUKEE – At a press conference in Milwaukee today, Attorney General William P. Barr announced updates on Operation Legend. He was joined by Robert J. Bell, DEA Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Division, and Matthew D. Krueger, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, who...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Jerry Twaddle, 40, of Carlsbad, New Mexico, was sentenced on Sept. 9 in federal court to 20 years in prison on drug trafficking charges. On Feb. 6, 2019, a jury found Twaddle guilty on charges of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, using a communication facility (telephone)...

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Robert J. Bell, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge, Chicago Division, and United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler, announced the dismantling of a drug trafficking organization that brought large quantities of illegal drugs into southwest Indiana. Eleven defendants were indicted by a grand jury in Evansville...