United States Drug Enforcement Administration

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...

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...

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...

LOS ANGELES – A chemical company, its director and three senior employees have been charged in a 13-count federal grand jury indictment alleging they sold deadly fentanyl precursor chemicals and xylazine – known as “tranq” – globally, fueling the fentanyl crisis in the United States, the Justice Department announced today...

STAMFORD, Conn. - Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Stephen P. Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, today announced that DARIUS GAMBLE, also known as “Rell,” 39, of Stamford, has been charged with fentanyl trafficking offenses...

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...

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Rose Esquilin Rios (34, Winter Haven) with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. If convicted, Esquilin Rios faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Esquilin Rios that the...

LOS ANGELES – A Canadian former Olympic snowboarder and 15 other defendants have been charged in a 16-count superseding indictment for allegedly running and participating in a transnational drug trafficking operation that routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine, from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada and other...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Fifteen more defendants have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a drug-trafficking conspiracy after law enforcement officers seized 100 pounds of methamphetamine and a kilogram of fentanyl pills hidden in a vehicle being transported from San Bernadino, Cal. to Springfield, Mo. Stevie...

OAKLAND, Calif. – Christian Grajeda-Varela, a Honduran national who pleaded guilty to fentanyl trafficking and money laundering, was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison. The sentence was handed down by the Hon. Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr., United States District Judge. Grajeda-Varela, 25, was charged by indictment on Aug. 2...