United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BALTIMORE, Md., – Joel William Hammond, age 35, of Essex, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute at least 28 grams of cocaine base. The guilty plea was announced by Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Washington Field Division; Jonathan...

DALLAS – A Honduran man was sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced DEA Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez. Oscar Ruiz Colon, 41, pleaded guilty on Feb. 4, 2021, to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine knowing it would be...

Washington, D.C. – Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the DEA Washington Division, is alerting all area residents to an increase in drug overdose deaths tied to counterfeit pills containing the powerful synthetic opioid, fentanyl. Manufactured by Mexican drug trafficking organizations, and marketed as a medication such as...

SAN DIEGO – An indictment was unsealed today in federal court charging 60 members of a San Diego-based international methamphetamine distribution network tied to the Sinaloa Cartel with drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms offenses. During the last month, hundreds of federal, state, and local law enforcement agents and officers...

Baltimore, MD –Ronald Alexander, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and powder and crack cocaine. While participating in a narcotics conspiracy, Alexander was employed by “Safe Streets,” an organization working to reduce violence and crime in Baltimore through intervention. While he was engaged in the...

OKLAHOMA CITY - Albert T. Nguyen, M.D., of Oklahoma City, paid $325,000 to settle civil penalty claims stemming from allegations that he violated the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 and its regulations. The settlement was announced by Eduardo A. Chávez, Special Agent in Charge of the...

AUSTIN, Texas – U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel today sentenced 34-year-old Austin resident Juan Angel Aguirre aka “Larry Aguirre” to 235 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for supplying traffickers with multiple kilograms of narcotics that were distributed throughout the Austin area. Aguirre is one...

DALLAS - A Costa Rican man was sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced today by the DEA Dallas Field Division. Felipe Espinoza-Cruz, 49, pleaded guilty on Feb. 3, 2021, to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine...

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – A husband and wife from Fairfax and their cousin from Spotsylvania were indicted last month for conspiring to distribute controlled substances in Virginia. According to court documents, Fahid Rashid, 30, Akhter Ahmed, 28, and Khalisah Khan, 29, conspired to traffic counterfeit pills containing fentanyl. The defendants, and...

NORFOLK, Va. – Today, a Jacksonville, Florida man was the sixth and final defendant to enter a guilty plea for his role in a multi-state anabolic steroid conspiracy that operated in multiple states across the country. According to court documents, law enforcement received information in February 2020 that Erik Eckert...