United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SAN DIEGO – Christopher Craig Jones, a prolific drug dealer in San Diego County, was sentenced in federal court to 120 months in prison. On December 16, 2020, San Diego County Sheriff’s deputies conducted a traffic stop and arrested Jones for possession of methamphetamine and fentanyl with intent to distribute...

NEWARK, N.J. – Susan A. Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division, Scott J. Lampert, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations-New Jersey Field Office, Patrick J. Hegarty, Defense Criminal Investigative...

NEWARK, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson and U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger announced a Hudson County, New Jersey man today admitted conspiring to distribute and possessing with intent to distribute cocaine. Jerome...

BRIDGETON, N.J. – Cumberland County is the latest region to be assigned the designation of being a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) through the federally funded HIDTA program, Susan A. Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division, and Jennifer Webb-McRae, Cumberland County Prosecutor...

SAN DIEGO – Four men were charged today with federal drug trafficking offenses following the seizure of more than 5,000 pounds of methamphetamine discovered already inside the U.S. in two trucks in National City, California. This is believed to be one of the largest methamphetamine seizures in San Diego County...

SAN DIEGO – Kaylar Junior Tawan Beltranlap of San Diego pleaded guilty today to distributing a fake pill containing fentanyl that killed a 15-year-old Coronado High School sophomore, referred to in court records as C.J.S., on May 12, 2021. During the change of plea hearing, Beltranlap admitted to utilizing his...

SAN DIEGO – Approximately 50,000 fake pills containing fentanyl were seized in a single enforcement operation in San Diego on June 28, 2022. Investigators from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Narcotic Task Force (NTF) and the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) worked together to prevent the fake pills from being distributed...

NEWARK, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson and U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger announced a pharmacist and pharmacy owner pleaded guilty today to violating the Controlled Substances Act by filling fraudulent and counterfeit...

SAN DIEGO – Cole Thomas Salazar pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting that he supplied a fatal dose of fentanyl that resulted in the death of a 24-year-old woman who was found inside her Vista apartment on November 3, 2020. According to his plea agreement, Salazar used an online...

SAN DIEGO – A two-year investigation has led to the indictment of 26 defendants for international drug smuggling, drug trafficking, and related conspiracy offenses. One of the defendants, Raul Barajas-Padilla, appeared in federal court yesterday for an initial appearance on the indictment. So far, 17 defendants have been arrested. Efforts...