United States Drug Enforcement Administration

EL PASO, Texas – Twenty-one individuals suspected of being affiliated with the Chuco Tango street gang were arrested Thursday in and around El Paso on criminal charges related to their alleged involvement in trafficking of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine, and/or the unlawful possession of firearms. The following defendants were indicted...

BOSTON – A Boston-area man has pleaded to his role in Cameron Street, a violent Boston gang. Devante Lopes, a/k/a “D-Lopes,” 30, of Boston and Quincy, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise (more commonly referred to as RICO or racketeering conspiracy); conspiracy to distribute marijuana; and...

BOSTON – A Boston man was sentenced today in connection with his role in Cameron Street, a violent Boston gang. Paulo Santos, a/k/a “Bucky,” 35, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young to 10 years in prison and four years of supervised release. In January 2024...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Nineteen members of a Charleston, Missouri-based drug trafficking organization accused of being the main supplier of methamphetamine and fentanyl to southeast Missouri have been indicted on a felony drug conspiracy charge, U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming announced Friday. Arrests by federal, state and local law enforcement...

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced Brayan Contreras-Avalos, a/k/a “Anonimo,” “Humilde,” and “Malia,” age 28, of Langley Park, Maryland, late yesterday to the statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison on charges related to his participation in a racketeering enterprise known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or...

Greenbelt, Maryland – A criminal complaint has been filed charging Mikiyas Maryie Kefyalew, a/k/a “Mick”, age 24, of Silver Spring, Maryland, with distribution of fentanyl resulting in the death of a minor victim. The criminal complaint was unsealed upon his arrest on September 16, 2022. The defendant had his initial...

NEW YORK - Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration...

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - ASANTE GAINES, also known as “Santi,” 25, of Bridgeport, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 190 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his participation in a Bridgeport gang-related activity, including a brazen daytime shooting...

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- Destine Calderon, 27, of Bridgeport, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 97 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his participation in a Bridgeport gang, and his role in a gang-related shooting that occurred in...

AUGUSTA, GA – Seven people have been indicted on charges related to a major methamphetamine-trafficking organization blamed for at least one overdose death. As described in the newly unsealed indictment in USA v. Wheatley et. al, the investigation in Operation Wheat Fields dates back to early 2018 and includes allegations...