DEA Archived Press Releases

Press Releases before January 20, 2025
542 Results - Showing 501 to 510
PRESS RELEASE

DEA Reveals Criminal Drug Networks Are Flooding the U.S. with Deadly Fentanyl

Washington, D.C. - As U.S. overdose deaths reach a devastating new height, claiming a new victim every five minutes, the Drug Enforcement Administration has revealed a direct link between fentanyl-related overdose deaths and criminal drug networks in Mexico. These groups are harnessing social media platforms to bring drugs laced with...
PRESS RELEASE

Los Angeles Man Arrested by DEA for Allegedly Providing a Fentanyl-Laced Pill to a Minor Who Suffered Fatal Overdose

LOS ANGELES— A Los Angeles man was arrested late Monday night on a federal grand jury indictment alleging he provided fentanyl-laced pills to a 15-year-old who died on July 8, 2021 after taking the pills. Johnny Castillo, 18, is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court Tuesday afternoon...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA Phoenix Task Force and the Goodyear Police Department Seize Over 270,000 Fentanyl Pills, Guns and Money

PHOENIX - On December 9th, 2021, the DEA Phoenix Field Division Task Force and the Goodyear Police Department arrested Brian Meza-Raya, 18, of Phoenix, Arizona, who is facing multiple felony charges related to alleged drug distribution. Law enforcement served a search warrant on December 9th, at a residence in Phoenix...
PRESS RELEASE

International Drug Trafficking Organization Member Sentenced for Trafficking Over a Thousand Kilograms of Cocaine

RICHMOND, Va. – A Guatemalan national was sentenced today to 172 months in prison for his role as a maritime transportation manager in a large-scale Guatemalan drug trafficking organization (DTO). According to court documents, beginning in 2016, Amilcar Chavez-Barrera, 42, conspired to distribute over 1,000 kilograms of cocaine for distribution...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA, HIDTA, and 18th Judicial District Announce Takedown of Colorado Based Fentanyl and Methamphetamine Drug Trafficking Organization

DENVER – Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Denver Field Division, alongside Rocky Mountain HIDTA and the 18th Judicial District, announced the indictment of 19 individuals and arrest of 10 individuals as a part of an investigation into a poly-drug trafficking organization operating in the greater Denver area of Colorado. In...
PRESS RELEASE

Leader of Prolific Fentanyl Trafficking Ring Sentenced

Seattle – Three men who were convicted at trial in August 2021, of multiple federal felonies for distributing fentanyl pills in Snohomish, Skagit, and Whatcom Counties, were sentenced to lengthy prison terms, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. The leader of the drug ring, Bradley Woolard, 41, of Arlington, was sentenced...
PRESS RELEASE

Two MS-13 Leaders Convicted of Racketeering Conspiracy and Conspiring to Commit Multiple Murders

Greenbelt, Md., – A federal jury convicted El Salvadorian nationals Junior Noe Alvarado-Requeno, a/k/a “Insolente” and “Trankilo,” age 24, of Landover, Maryland, and Miguel Angel Corea Diaz, a/k/a “Reaper,” age 41, of Long Branch, New Jersey yesterday for conspiring to participate in La Mara Salvatrucha, a transnational criminal enterprise also...
PRESS RELEASE

Fort Worth Jury Convicts Whitt Drug Trafficker

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...
PRESS RELEASE

York County Man Sentenced for Distributing Heroin to Women Who Died from Drug Overdoses

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A York County man was sentenced today to 17 years in prison for distributing heroin to two women who died from overdoses at his Seaford home and for possessing firearms and ammunition as an unlawful drug user who maintained a drug-involved premises. According to court documents...
PRESS RELEASE

Alexandria Man Convicted of Armed Fentanyl Trafficking

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal jury convicted an Alexandria man yesterday on charges of conspiracy, possession, and distribution of fentanyl and Eutylone, and being a felon in possession of a firearm during drug trafficking. According to court records and evidence presented at trial, from in or around June 2020, through...