United States Drug Enforcement Administration

TAMPA, Fla. – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced the return of an indictment charging Luis Mojica Rojas, 45, of Zephyrhills, Florida, with conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl; conspiracy to commit international money laundering; possession of 400 grams or more of fentanyl with the intent...

SAN DIEGO – Cole Thomas Salazar pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting that he supplied a fatal dose of fentanyl that resulted in the death of a 24-year-old woman who was found inside her Vista apartment on November 3, 2020. According to his plea agreement, Salazar used an online...

SEATTLE – The Arlington, Washington based leader of a prolific and violent drug trafficking ring pleaded guilty this week to federal drug, gun, and money laundering crimes, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Cesar Valdez-Sanudo, 36, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and carrying...

WASHINGTON – On June 14 and 15, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram hosted the first-ever DEA Family Summit on the Overdose Epidemic for families from across the country who have experienced the profound loss of a child due to a drug overdose or poisoning. Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco delivered...

OAKLAND, Calif. – Kameron Patricia Reid pleaded guilty today in federal court to two counts of distributing fentanyl that resulted in the death of a Santa Rita Jail inmate, announced United States Attorney Stephane M. Hinds, FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan, and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in...

SAN FRANCISCO – Emil Arriola Melendez was sentenced in federal court today to 46 months in prison for the distribution of fentanyl, announced United States Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Wade R. Shannon. Senior United States District Judge Maxine M. Chesney handed...

ABINGDON, Va. – Sovah Health has agreed to pay the United States $4.36 million to settle claims that the hospital system violated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) on numerous occasions between 2017 and 2020. As part of the resolution, Sovah Health further agreed to be subject to a period of...

EL PASO – Jennipher Talamantes, a counselor at an El Paso school district, and Jennifer and David Burke, the Executive Directors of Serenity Mesa Recovery Center in Albuquerque, were the only El Pasoan and New Mexicans invited to meet with Administrator Anne Milgram as part of the first-ever DEA Family...

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Abdallah Amer Ali, 21, of Harrisonburg, sold a fatal dose of fentanyl to a 16-year-old in Harrisonburg and pled guilty to one count of distributing a measurable quantity of fentanyl which resulted in death. “With overdose deaths on a rampant rise across the country, we often focus...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Liberty, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for distributing fentanyl from his apartment near Liberty High School and for illegally possessing a firearm. Daniel I. Ramirez, 22, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to 11 years in federal prison without...