United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SAN DIEGO–A federal grand jury indictment was unsealed in San Diego today against alleged Mexican cartel leader Sergio Valenzuela Valenzuela in connection with his drug trafficking activities. Valenzuela Valenzuela was also the target of sanctions imposed today by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The indictment, returned on September 28...

DALLAS - Attorney General Javier Caraballo, of the Republic of Panama, joined DEA Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas Field Division Eduardo A. Chavez; Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei, for the Eastern District of Texas; Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Spradlin of HSI, Dallas Field Office; FBI...

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – Larry Junior Hillbroom, 37, of Hope, Idaho, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine on September 21, 2021. Chief Magistrate Judge Candy W. Dale took Hillbroom’s plea and set the case for sentencing on February 8, 2022. According to court records, in 2015 and 2016, Hillbroom...

DUBLIN, GA - A key figure in a Laurens County-area drug trafficking conspiracy has been sentenced to more than 20 years in federal prison. Rodney Jarrod Denson, a/k/a “RD,” 45, of Dublin, Ga., was sentenced to 262 months in prison after pleading guilty Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alfred A. Cooke III, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Merrillville, Indiana, and Acting United States Attorney Tina L. Nommay of the Northern District of Indiana announced that Bradley Burns, 33, of South Bend, Indiana was sentenced before United States District Court Judge Damon...

TAMPA, Fla. – Six individuals who are part of the Fernando Pineda-Jimenez Transnational Criminal Organization have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a conspiracy to distribute cocaine using vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States (U.S.). Fernando Pineda-Jimenez, a/k/a “Padrino,” 40, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy...

BROOKLYN, NY - Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Alvaro Vivero Rendon was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment by United States District Judge Edward R. Korman for conspiracy to internationally distribute cocaine. As part of the sentence, the Court entered a forfeiture money judgment of $20 million. Vivero pleaded...

Baltimore, Md., – U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced Anton Williams, age 43, of Baltimore, to 10 years in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine in the Monument Street area of East Baltimore; possession with intent...

LUBBOCK, TX - Forty defendants – including 15 arrested in Wednesday’s “Operation Taste the Rainbow” in Lubbock – have been charged with gun and drug crimes, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah. The men and women, all allegedly tied to methamphetamine trafficking in and around Lubbock, have been charged in...

ABINGDON, Va. – A Bristol, Virginia man was sentenced last week to 21 and a half years in prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. According to court documents, Paul D. Crone, 56, conspired with others to traffic approximately 45...