United States Drug Enforcement Administration

LOS ANGELES —Today, law enforcement investigators served nine arrest warrants in multiple locations throughout Los Angeles and Riverside Counties. In March of 2020, the DEA launched Operation Crystal Shield to focus efforts on main U.S. methamphetamine trafficking transportation hubs. DEA identified eight major methamphetamine transportation hubs where Operation Crystal Shield...

Greenbelt, Md., – U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Ian Carlton Alexander a/k/a “Shawn Alexander”, age 50, of Towson, to 61 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and for being a felon in possession of a firearm...

DALLAS - A longtime drug dealer has been convicted of drug and gun crimes, announced DEA Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez. Following a two-day trial, a federal jury convicted Jerome Thomas Watkins, 44, of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin; possession with...

BOSTON – A Colombian national, recently residing in Revere, was convicted by a federal jury today in connection with attempting to purchase 20 kilograms of cocaine from undercover agents. Jesus Arley Munera-Gomez, 35, was convicted following a week-long trial of one count of attempt to possess with intent to distribute...

Baltimore, Md., – U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Tirrel Saunders, a/k/a “Pretty”, age 35, of Baltimore, Maryland to 15 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Saunders was a member of the Gregory Butler Drug Trafficking Organization (“Butler...

LOS ANGELES —The culmination of a three-month investigation resulted in a Santa Barbara methamphetamine distributor being sentenced on November 8, 2021 to 180 months in federal prison for narcotics violations. Cesar Castillo-Pena, 35, of San Bernardino, California, was sentenced by United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner. On July 28...

FORT WAYNE, Indiana – Alfred A. Cooke, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of United States Drug Enforcement Administration-Merrillville, Indiana, and United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson of the Northern District of Indiana, announced that Fredrick Morgan II, 42, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Holly...

MIAMI – A Florida man pleaded guilty yesterday to unlawfully distributing opioids at his pain management clinic in Miami, Florida. According to court documents, Habib Geagea Palacios, 40, of Miami, owned a cash-only pain management clinic in Miami, Florida named General Care Center, Inc. At General Care Center, Palacios paid...

MADISON, Wis. - John G. McGarry, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Wisconsin, and Timothy M. O’Shea, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Jerry Scheerer, 38, of Mauston, Wisconsin, today pleaded guilty to distributing methamphetamine and was sentenced by Chief U.S...

SAN DIEGO - Angel Dominguez Ramirez Jr. of Tamaulipas, Mexico, pleaded guilty in federal court today to drug and money laundering charges, admitting that he was the leader of a trafficking organization that transported ton-quantities of cocaine from South America to Mexico and into the United States. According to court...