DEA Archived Press Releases

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

U.S. Attorney’s Office and DEA Announce Fatal Fentanyl Overdose Task Force

Baltimore, Maryland – Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland and Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division, announced that their agencies have formed the Maryland Fatal Fentanyl Overdose Task Force (“MFFOTF”). The alarming rate of overdoses in Maryland has...
PRESS RELEASE

Leader of Drug Ring Pleads Guilty as Federal Trial is Set to Begin

BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Rocco A. Beardsley, 38, of Jamestown, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. to narcotic conspiracy and distribution of fentanyl causing death, which carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a...
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

Organized Drug Crime Ring Attempted to Flood Alaskan Villages with Fentanyl, 54 Indicted

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The U.S Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska announced today that 54 people have been charged through nine indictments in connection with a large-scale organized crime ring operating within the state of Alaska. U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker of the District of Alaska, Assistant Special Agent...
PRESS RELEASE

Nassau Doctor Sentenced to Up to 15 Years in Prison for Overprescription of Opioids that Led to Five Deaths

MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced today that a Nassau County doctor has been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison for prescription practices that led to the deaths of five patients between 2016 and 2018. George Blatti, 78, pleaded guilty on October 10...
PRESS RELEASE

Jamestown Man Going to Prison for Selling Heroin, Fentanyl, and Methamphetamine

BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Brendan Farver, 29, of Jamestown, NY, who was convicted of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute, and distributing, heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine, was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison by Senior U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny...
PRESS RELEASE

29 Guns, Fentanyl, Meth Behind Indictment of Kansas City Man

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man was indicted by a federal grand jury today after law enforcement officers found 29 firearms in his residence, along with significant amounts of fentanyl and methamphetamine. Charles J. Dunne, 60, was charged in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA Washington Division Holds Second Annual Family Summit on Fentanyl

WASHINGTON, DC – On October 6, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Washington Division hosted their 2nd Family Summit in support of those who have lost loved ones to fentanyl poisoning in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. The Summit was very emotional and educational to all those who attended...
PRESS RELEASE

Illinois Man Accused of Dealing Fatal Fentanyl Pills

ST. LOUIS – A man from Belleville, Illinois, was indicted Wednesday on charges accusing him of selling the fentanyl that killed someone in St. Louis County in December. The two-count indictment in U.S. District Court in St. Louis accuses Deontae’ Tre’Von Overall, 27, of selling the fentanyl that killed a...
PRESS RELEASE

Consent Decree Approved Among the U.S. and Cumberland, M.D. based Pharmacy and Pharmacist

Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Lydia K. Griggsby approved the United States’ consent decree with John A. Beckman, a Cumberland, Maryland based pharmacist, and Beckman’s Greene Street Pharmacy, Inc. (“Beckman’s Pharmacy”), resolving the United States’ civil allegations that Beckman and Beckman’s Pharmacy violated the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) in...