NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – On Wednesday, a federal jury convicted two individuals on charges relating to drug trafficking and money laundering. “As the evidence at trial showed, the defendants engaged in a conspiracy to launder the proceeds of their drug trafficking crimes on behalf of a network of conspirators that...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment today charging twelve members and associates of “La Mara Salvatrucha”, or MS-13, with a variety of offenses based on their involvement in racketeering, drug trafficking, and a series of murders. Those charged in the indictment are: Name Age Gang...

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...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Los Angeles man pleaded guilty today to being the head of a conspiracy involving the distribution of wholesale quantities of synthetic cannabinoids—commonly known as “spice” or “K2”—and laundering millions of dollars in the proceeds of the sale of that spice. According to court documents, from 2017...

NORFOLK, Va. – Today, a Richmond man was the sixth and final defendant to be sentenced for his role in a multi-state anabolic steroid conspiracy that operated across the country. According to court documents, Clyde Edward Peele, 46, is one of six members of a trafficking network, led by Michael...

POCATELLO, Idaho – A Twin Falls, Idaho, man was sentenced to 150 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. According to court records, in September 2019, Cody J. Moore, 50, of Twin Falls, Idaho, traveled to Arizona with his co-conspirator, Brian...

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- The leader of a conspiracy that used forged prescriptions to obtain and sell large amounts of highly addictive opioids has been sentenced to federal prison. Raheem Hardy, 29, of Decatur, Georgia, was sentenced to 55 months in prison after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent...

PORTLAND, Ore.—A federal superseding indictment was unsealed today charging a Mexican National residing in Clackamas County, Oregon for his role in the 2019 kidnapping and murder of a Washington State man and other drug trafficking crimes. Marcos Alonso Castillo-Bernal, 46, has been charged with conspiring to possess with intent to...

DALLAS – A Mexican national and high-ranking member of the Los Zetas cartel received a life sentence for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced DEA Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez today. Hugo Cesar Roman-Chavarria, also known as “El Vecino,” pleaded guilty on August 23...

Baltimore, Md., – Larry Gardner, a/k/a “Little Larry,” age 40, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to participating in a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, including heroin. The guilty plea was announced by Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Washington Division...