Press Releases - all

Washington, DC- The Washington Division Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), in conjunction with the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, the Washington Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Montgomery County Police Department, the Prince George's County Police Department and the Calvert County Police Department announced the culmination of a major investigation into the activities of a drug trafficking organization based in the Dominican Republic.

OCT 30—The National Red Ribbon Week commemorates DEA Special Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena. Agent Camarena was abducted, tortured and brutally murdered in Guadalajara, Mexico in 1985. Agent Camerena sacrificed his life in the fight against drugs. The communities across the country and the nation rallied behind a campaign which served as a reminder of the harm caused by drugs. The campaign expressed the need for anti-drug programs and the campaign would allow the dedicated actions of Americans to show their opposition to drugs.

OCT 29--Special Agent in Charge of DEA’s Washington Division, Laura M. Nagel, announced the sentencing of Shawn Verbeke, 30, of Cleveland, Ohio, who was a police officer with the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department from 2000-2002. United States District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema sentenced Verbeke to 130 months imprisonment today on one count of conspiracy to distribute ecstasy and methamphetamine and one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.

On October 19, at 4:00 p.m. EDT and its equivalent in time zones across the nation, members of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, along with their families and friends, physically joined hands across state lines nationwide to demonstrate their mutual commitment to the fight against drugs. In the Washington area, members of the Maryland, Delaware and District of Columbia Elks Association joined hands across the Maryland and District lines at Eastern Avenue and Riggs Road in Chillum. Washington Field Division Demand Reduction Coordinator Linda Lee represented DEA at the event.

AUG 25--Washington, D.C. - R.C. Gamble, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Washington Division Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), United States Attorney Roscoe C. Howard, Jr., Chief Charles Ramsey of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), Jeffrey R. Roehm, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Washington Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Chief Theresa C.

AUG 20--On Tuesday, August 19, 2003 the Drug Enforcement Administration with the assistance of Prince William/Manassas City/Manassas Park Narcotics Task Force executed three federal search warrants and attempted to serve sixteen federal criminal complaints. The activity was a result of an earlier operation that began in the year 2000.

AUG 1-The DEA-lead investigation dubbed Operation Trifecta began in January 2002 after a seizure of 9,291 kilograms of cocaine from a Mexican fishing vessel in December 1991. It was a multi-jurisdictional investigation that targeted the Ismael Zambada-Garcia Organization, which is one of the largest and most-powerful trafficking organizations in Mexico. The scope of Zambada-Garcia's influence in Mexico is ledgendary and spans nearly thirty years. The Zambada-Garcia Organization is aligned with almost every known drug trafficking organization in Mexico.

JUN 18--Greenbelt, Maryland - Thomas M. DiBiagio, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced that a federal grand jury has indicted Samuel Estrada, Jr., age 27, of Bell. California, today for crimes committed in connection with the distribution and conspiracy to distribute over 1000 kilograms of marijuana from California to Maryland.

During the month of May, the 2003 National Police Week was held in Washington, DC and the DEA Memorial Service was held in Arlington, VA. The Washington Division Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration supports both of these services which commemorates those who served and lost there lives, for the betterment of all of society. The 2003 National Police Week activities attended by DEA personnel included the 9th Annual Blue Mass, held at St.