United States Drug Enforcement Administration

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Honduran national under federal indictment for conspiring with others to distribute fentanyl was extradited from Honduras to the United States this week to face charges in the District of Oregon. Orbin Alfredo Velasquez Layaire, 38, has been charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. According to...

SEATTLE, Wash. – The final defendant of 41 arrested in an extensive drug trafficking investigation, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute and unlawfully possessing a firearm. Kendle Rashen Hawkins, 34, of Goodyear, Arizona, will be sentenced by U.S. District...

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho--Scott Higgins, 57, of Coeur d’Alene, was sentenced yesterday on charges for theft from a program receiving federal funds and acquiring controlled substances by fraud, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today. Both charges relate to a drug diversion scheme that Higgins carried out over multiple years while employed...

JACKSON, MS– Five individuals with ties to Mexico have pled guilty over the past month to felony offenses related to drug trafficking, firearms trafficking, and immigration offenses as a result of a law enforcement investigation involving sales of cocaine in Mississippi to purchase firearms and machine gun conversion devices for...

LITTLE ROCK—Two leaders of a large-scale methamphetamine organization have been sentenced to a combined 400 months in federal prison. Adan Mendoza, 36, of Dallas, Texas, and Brian I. Wilson, 37, of Little Rock, each received 200-month prison sentences — which equals 16 years, 8 months — from United States District...

TACOMA, Wash. – A 25-year-old Puyallup man, who also maintained an apartment in Seattle, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 78 months in prison for drug trafficking and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Emmanuel Xaiver...

POCATELLO, Idaho – Robin Dwain Dunn, 69, of Rigby, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine. Court records indicate that from June 2022 to February 2023, Dunn—an attorney practicing in Eastern Idaho who previously served as the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney—agreed with clients and others...

BOISE – Brandon Aaron Dana, 36, a co-conspirator in a large drug trafficking conspiracy, was sentenced today to 10 years in federal prison for distributing over 7,000 fentanyl pills in Idaho's Magic Valley. According to court records, in the summer of 2023, law enforcement officers identified Dana while investigating a...

SEATTLE, Wash. – A Bellingham, Washington woman who was a redistributor for a fentanyl distribution ring was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Seattle. Natasha Parkhill, 38, of Bellingham pleaded guilty in March 2024 and was sentenced today to 4 years in prison. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge...

SEATTLE, Wash. –The first of six defendants tied to a significant drug trafficking ring that used recreational vehicles to transport massive quantities of methamphetamine, fentanyl pills, cocaine and heroin was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 102 months in prison. Ernesto Casillas, 48, has been in custody...