DEA Archived Press Releases

Press Releases before January 20, 2025
10 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

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

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

Maryland U.S. Attorney Recognizes the Contributions of Law Enforcement Partners to Reduce Violent Crime in 2023

Baltimore, Maryland – At a press conference earlier today, U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron, thanked federal, state and local law enforcement partners in the fight against violent crime in Maryland. The teamwork, community-based partnerships, and strategic law enforcement initiatives helped make a difference in reducing homicides in Baltimore in 2023...
PRESS RELEASE

First Regional Family Summit on Fentanyl Held in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY – On October 19, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Rocky Mountain Field Division, in partnership with the State of Utah’s Office of the Attorney General and with the support of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah, hosted a Family Summit for those who have...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA Washington Division Announces the Seizure of Over 8 Million of Deadly Doses of Fentanyl in 2022

Washington DC – The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division seized over 8.3 million potentially deadly doses of fentanyl in 2022. The division, which covers the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia confiscated nearly 160,000 fake pills containing fentanyl, and more than 250 pounds of fentanyl powder throughout the year...
PRESS RELEASE

SnapChat Sale of Fentanyl-Laced Pills Leads to Federal Prison Term for Harrisonburg Man

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Abdallah Amer Ali, 21, of Harrisonburg, Virginia, was sentenced today to 13 years in federal prison after selling a fatal dose of fentanyl to a 16-year-old in Harrisonburg. Ali pleaded guilty in June 2022 to one count of distributing a measurable quantity of fentanyl. “In 2021, more...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA acts against dangerous, deadly designer synthetic drug linked to 151 overdose deaths since 2015

WASHINGTON – The Drug Enforcement Administration today announced action against a dangerous designer synthetic cathinone linked to 151 overdose deaths in the United States between 2015 and 2018. Published in today’s Federal Register, DEA’s action puts N-Ethylpentylone into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule I substances refer to...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA investigators seeking answers in small Tennessee town

CELINA, Tenn. -- DEA investigators this week conducted inspections at several pharmacy locations in the Clay County, Tennessee town of Celina, following an inquiry into irregular patterns of pill purchases from drug distribution companies. DEA is now investigating possible criminal activity involving the illicit diversion of controlled prescription pharmaceuticals at...
PRESS RELEASE

Justice Department, DEA propose significant opioid manufacturing reduction in 2019

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration have proposed a reduction for controlled substances that may be manufactured in the U.S. next year. Consistent with President Trump’s “Safe Prescribing Plan” that seeks to “cut nationwide opioid prescription fills by one-third within three years,” the proposal decreases...