DEA Archived Press Releases

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

Head of Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Heriberto Lopez-Landeros, 44, of Avondale, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge Steven P. Logan to 14 years in prison. Lopez-Landeros pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine on August 5, 2024. Lopez-Landeros was the head of an Arizona-based drug trafficking organization responsible...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA Washington Division Calls on the Community to Have Important Conversations on Dangers of Drugs and Fake Pills in Back-To-School Routines

Washington, DC – As schools in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia open their doors to students and teachers this month, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Washington Division is urging the community to have important conversations about the consequences of drug experimentation and misuse as the new school year...
PRESS RELEASE

Drug Coordinator Sentenced to 63 Months in Prison

TUCSON, Ariz. – Enrique Heriberto Nunez-Tiznado, 45, of Sasabe, Sonora, Mexico, was sentenced on February 22, 2024, by United States District Judge Scott H. Rash to 63 months in prison. Nunez-Tiznado pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, Heroin, Cocaine, and Methamphetamine, and Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA Washington Division Saw a Surge of Over 250% in Fentanyl Pill Seizures in 2023

Washington, DC – The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division, which covers the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) confiscated more than 639,000 fentanyl pills and 189 pounds of fentanyl powder in 2023. This amount represents more than a three-fold increase in the number of fake pills laced with...
PRESS RELEASE

Malas Manas Transnational Criminal Organization Leadership Indicted on Charges of Human Smuggling and Drug Trafficking

Phoenix, Ariz. - On November 29, 2023, a federal grand jury in Tucson returned an 11-count indictment against Jorge Damian Roman-Figueroa, Luis Eduardo Roman-Flores, Manuel Jose Bernal, Joel Salazar-Ballesteros, and Jesus Armando Gonzalez-Villela, citizens of Mexico, for Conspiracy to Transport Aliens; Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments; Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana...
PRESS RELEASE

Phoenix Drug Dealers Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Hector Manuel Cruz, Jr., 29, of Chandler, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge G. Murray Snow to 15 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. On April 25, 2023, Cruz pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. Co-defendant Konstantin...
PRESS RELEASE

19 Arrested on Federal Charges Trafficking Meth, Fentanyl, Heroin, and Cocaine in Charlottesville, VA

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – A federal grand jury in Charlottesville, Virginia has indicted 17 individuals as part of a large-scale drug conspiracy that distributed more than 500 grams of methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine in and around the Charlottesville region. The 37-count indictment, returned under seal August 29, 2023, partially unsealed...
PRESS RELEASE

Man Indicted Following Seizure of Almost 130 Pounds of Methamphetamine During Traffic Stop

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Rudy Vasquez Cervantes, 20, of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, was indicted last week by a federal grand jury in Phoenix on one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. The indictment alleges that, on June 30, 2023, Cervantes was traveling by vehicle when he was stopped...
PRESS RELEASE

California Woman Indicted for Possessing More Than 110 Pounds of Methamphetamine and Nearly Three Pounds of Cocaine During Traffic Stop

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Martha Betancourth Angulo, 34, of Torrance, California, was indicted on one count each of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine. The indictment alleges that, on June 29, 2023, Angulo was traveling on Interstate 8 in Yuma County, Arizona, when she...
PRESS RELEASE

Final Defendant Sentenced for Tucson-Based Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering Conspiracy

TUCSON, Ariz. – Cecilia Campos, 49, of Pellham, Alabama, was sentenced on June 14, 2023, by United States District Court Judge James A. Soto to 18 months in prison, followed by 36 months of supervised release. Campos pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Heroin and Methamphetamine...