DEA Archived Press Releases

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

Flight Attendant Pleads Guilty to Possessing Fentanyl with the Intent to Distribute

SAN DIEGO - Terese L. White, a flight attendant residing in Dallas, Texas, has pleaded guilty in federal court to a drug-trafficking charge, admitting that she used her privileges as a flight attendant to bypass the more robust security screening process at San Diego International Airport in order to smuggle...
PRESS RELEASE

Matriarch of Violent Multimillion-Dollar Honduran Cocaine Trafficking Organization Pleads Guilty

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Honduran woman pleaded guilty to participating in a large-scale conspiracy to traffic cocaine for importation into the United States. According to court documents, from 2006 until 2015, Erlinda Ramos-Bobadilla, aka Herlinda Bobadilla or Chinda, 62, served as a leader in the Montes-Bobadilla drug-trafficking organization, or “Los...
PRESS RELEASE

Over 164 Illegal Firearms Seized and 250 Firearms Offenders Prosecuted in Eastern Virginia in 2022

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Jessica D. Aber, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, announced that over the course of the past year, EDVA’s litigative efforts have resulted in the forfeiture of at least 164 illegally owned, possessed, used, or obtained firearms. Firearms that are criminally forfeited are removed...
PRESS RELEASE

Butte Drug Trafficking Organization with Ties to the Sinaloa Cartel Dismantled

BUTTE, Mont. — A multi-agency investigation into a drug trafficking organization with ties to the Sinaloa Cartel, which brought massive quantities of methamphetamine, counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl and heroin to Butte for redistribution, has resulted in the federal convictions of 22 people. U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich hosted a press...
PRESS RELEASE

Doctor and Office Manager Indicted in Scheme to Defraud Medicare, Manufacture and Distribute Fentanyl

SAN DIEGO - Dr. David J. Smith, a pain management physician, and his office manager, Julia Ann Oertle, are charged in a federal grand-jury indictment with perpetuating a long-running scheme to commit healthcare fraud and to manufacture and distribute adulterated fentanyl. Smith made his initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate...
PRESS RELEASE

High-Ranking Aryan Circle Gang Leader and Member Sentenced on Racketeering-Related Violations

WASHINGTON – Two members of the Aryan Circle were sentenced this week for crimes they committed as part of their roles in the white supremacy prison gang. William Glenn Chunn, aka Big Head, 40, of Conroe, Texas, was sentenced yesterday to life imprisonment for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO)...
PRESS RELEASE

Gainesville Man Convicted of Drug Trafficking and Firearm Offense

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A federal jury in Gainesville convicted Edwin Giovanny Mendoza-Verdugo, 20, of Sinaloa, Mexico, on one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, further finding Mendoza-Verdugo responsible for 40-400 grams of fentanyl, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. The...
PRESS RELEASE

Mexican National Sentenced to More Than 12 Years for Role in Methamphetamine Importation Conspiracy

TAMPA, Fla . – Ubertino Zavala-Perez (59, Plant City, Florida) was sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Zavala-Perez pleaded guilty on August 31, 2022. According to court documents, Zavala-Perez conspired with individuals in Mexico and others to distribute and import methamphetamine from...
PRESS RELEASE

Dark Web Drug Dealer Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison

MIAMI — Anton Peck, 29, of Boca Raton, Fla., has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks to 16 years in prison for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. Peck previously pled guilty to one count of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl...
PRESS RELEASE

Federal Jury Convicts Tampa Man of Double Murder

TAMPA, Fla. – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that a federal jury has found Jy’quale Samari Grable (20, Tampa) guilty of conspiracy, robbery, and first-degree premediated murder. Grable faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 16, 2022. Jy’quale...