DEA Archived Press Releases

Press Releases before January 20, 2025
33 Results - Showing 21 to 30
PRESS RELEASE

North Carolina Man sentenced to Federal Prison for Distributing Opioids through the Dark Web

SAVANNAH, GA: A North Carolina man who ordered and illegally sold highly addictive opioids through the Dark Web has been sentenced to federal prison. Wesley McKeehan, 34, of Salisbury, N.C., was sentenced to 26 months in prison after pleading guilty to Distribution of Oxycodone, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S...
PRESS RELEASE

Dark Web Narcotics Traffickers Plead Guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Illegal Drugs in Exchange for Cryptocurrency

BROOKLYN, NY - Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Gilberto Melgarejo pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute illegal drugs over the “dark web.” Co-defendant Brooke Gray pleaded guilty to the same charge on August 10, 2021. Melgarejo and Gray participated in dozens of...
PRESS RELEASE

Darknet Drug Vendor Pleads Guilty to Distributing Illicit Prescription Drugs

ALEXANDRIA, Va., – A Georgia man pleaded guilty yesterday to distributing illicit prescription drugs over the Darknet and shipping them across the country via the U.S Postal Service. According to court documents, from around April 2020 through October 2020, Cullen Roberts, 23, of Duluth, Georgia, used the moniker “Pillpusher” to...
PRESS RELEASE

California Man Convicted for Fentanyl Analogue Pill Mill Operation

TRENTON, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson and Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Rachael A. Honig announced a California man was convicted today of conspiracy and manufacturing, distributing, and possessing with intent to manufacture and...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA Washington Division Issues Warning: “One Pill Can Kill”

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...
PRESS RELEASE

U.S. Navy Petty Officer Pleads Guilty to Role in Multi-State Anabolic Steroid Trafficking Network

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...
PRESS RELEASE

Dark Web Vendor of Opioids and Counterfeit U.S. Currency Pleads Guilty

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Utica, New York man pleaded guilty yesterday to charges relating to his sale of over $1.2 million in opioid pills and counterfeit U.S. currency on multiple dark web criminal marketplaces. According to court documents, from around October 2016 through February 2021, Albie Pagan, 65, operated under...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA Warning: Scammers Impersonating DEA Agents

WASHINGTON – The Drug Enforcement Administration is warning the public of a widespread fraud scheme in which telephone scammers impersonate DEA agents in an attempt to extort money or steal personal identifiable information. A new public service announcement aims to raise awareness that DEA will never phone demanding money or...
PRESS RELEASE

New COVID-19 Vaccine will bring opportunities for Fraud

BEAUMONT, Texas - With millions of people waiting for their turn to get the new COVID vaccine, it is expected that scammers will use that opportunity to prey on those willing to pay for it. “Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve seen fraudsters taking advantage of public programs and...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA warns of scammers impersonating DEA employees

WASHINGTON – The Drug Enforcement Administration urges its DEA-registered practitioners and members of the public to be cautious of telephone calls by scammers posing as DEA employees attempting to defraud and extort victims. The schemers call the victims, spoofing DEA phone numbers in order to appear legitimate, and threaten arrest...