DEA Archived Press Releases

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

Oakland Money Services Business Owner Sentenced to One Year in Prison for Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering

OAKLAND, Calif. – Jose Luis Garcia, the co-owner of Envios Express, a money transmitting business in Oakland, was sentenced this week to 12 months in federal prison. The Honorable Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr., United States District Judge, handed down the sentence on Jan. 15, 2025. Garcia, 57, of Oakland, was...
PRESS RELEASE

Alleged Fentanyl Trafficker Extradited from Honduras to Face Charges in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO – The government of Honduras extradited Gustavo Erazo, a Honduran national, to the United States this week to appear on charges stemming from his alleged involvement in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine in the San Francisco Bay Area. The extradition marks the sixth extradition of...
PRESS RELEASE

Two Houston Men Sentenced to Federal Prison for Burglarizing Pharmacies in Southern Illinois, Missouri

BENTON, Ill. – A district court judge sentenced two Houston, Texas, men to federal prison for burglarizing pharmacies of controlled substances in Casey, Illinois, and Poplar Bluff, Missouri. McKindley V. Allen, 32, and DaLeon J. Fontennet, 28, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary involving controlled substances, conspiracy to distribute...
PRESS RELEASE

Nurse Pleads Guilty to Illegally Obtaining Fentanyl from Hospital

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Osage Beach, Mo., nurse pleaded guilty in federal court today to illegally obtaining fentanyl from a hospital for his own use. Charles Welch Jr., 65, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark to a federal...
PRESS RELEASE

Drug Trafficker and Money Launderer Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Yvette Porras-Ochoa, 42, of Wittmann, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge Steven P. Logan to 180 months in prison. Porras-Ochoa pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute 50 grams or more of Cocaine, Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Prescription...
PRESS RELEASE

Lebanese Man Sentenced For Participating In International Money Laundering Conspiracy

BOSTON – A Lebanese man has been sentenced for his for his participation in a money laundering conspiracy. Andres Rached Farah, 55, a Lebanese citizen who resided in Colombia, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to 52 months in prison. In August 2024, Farah pleaded guilty...
PRESS RELEASE

Court Orders North Carolina Pharmacy to Pay $500,000 Penalty and Enters Injunction to Prevent Filling Illegal Controlled Substance Prescriptions

WASHINGTON – A federal court ordered an Elkin, North Carolina, pharmacy to pay a $500,000 penalty and enjoined the pharmacy and its pharmacists from dispensing controlled substances, including opioids, without taking steps to help ensure the drugs will not be abused or diverted. The consent decree resolves a complaint filed...
PRESS RELEASE

Madera Pharmacist Sentenced to over 7 Years in Prison for Illegally Trafficking Hundreds of Thousands of Opiate Pills

FRESNO, Calif. — Ifeanyi Vincent Ntukogu, 49, of Fresno, was sentenced today to seven years and three months in prison for illegally distributing oxycodone and hydrocodone. Ntukogu was a pharmacist in Madera who dispensed more than 450,000 oxycodone and hydrocodone pills based on fraudulent prescriptions, all in exchange for cash...
PRESS RELEASE

Braintree Man Sentenced To 15 Years In Prison For Drug Trafficking And Money Laundering Charges

BOSTON – A member of a nationwide drug trafficking ring was sentenced on Oct. 25, 2024, in federal court in Boston for drug trafficking and money laundering. During the investigation, over 160 pounds of pure methamphetamine, as well as an AK-47, a Glock with no serial number, two loaded Smith...
PRESS RELEASE

Alleged Bay Area Fentanyl Distributor Extradited from Honduras

OAKLAND, Calif. – The government of Honduras extradited Javier Marin-Gonzales, a Honduran national, to the United States this week to appear on charges stemming from his alleged involvement in the distribution of fentanyl in the San Francisco Bay Area. The extradition marks the fifth extradition of an alleged drug distributor...