DEA Archived Press Releases

Press Releases before January 20, 2025
734 Results - Showing 341 to 350
PRESS RELEASE

Local Doctor and Former Pro Football Player Indicted

Rome, Ga. – Atlanta-area doctor Victor Hanson and former professional football player Sedrick Hodge have been indicted with two other individuals for illegal distribution of prescription drugs, including opioids. “Americans rely on healthcare providers, many of them medical doctors, to use their training to help patients and to ‘do no...
PRESS RELEASE

Heroin Trafficker Sentenced For Transporting

ATLANTA - Francisco Castaneda Rivera has been sentenced to federal prison for transporting 4.24 kilograms of heroin, hidden inside a car battery, from Texas to the Atlanta-area. Robert J. Murphy, special agent in charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division said, “Drug traffickers like Castaneda Rivera often take extreme measures...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA targets methamphetamine in three states with Operation Crystal Mountain

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The United States Drug Enforcement Administration this week announced the conclusion of Operation Crystal Mountain, a sweeping enforcement action spanning three states. DEA special agents, working closely with their state and local counterparts throughout Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia targeted Mexican drug cartels, drug trafficking organizations and...
PRESS RELEASE

Cartel-Connected illegal alien drug trafficker and associate sentenced to federal prison

WAYCROSS, Ga. -- Two drug traffickers, including an illegal alien with ties to a Mexican drug cartel, will spend more than a decade in federal prison after sentencing in a methamphetamine conspiracy. Ricardo Santana-Hernandez, a/k/a “Richard Hernandez,” a/k/a “Armond,” a/k/a “Armani,” 32, of C’daltimairano, Guerroro, Mexico, was sentenced to 135...
PRESS RELEASE

Three men indicted for possession of methamphetamine found in active conversion laboratory

ROME, Ga. - Daniel Landa-Duerta, Mauricio Dominguez-Vazquez, and Jorge Armando Avalos-Menera have been arraigned on federal charges related to methamphetamine seized from a conversion laboratory in Dallas, Georgia. “The cocktail of deadly chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamine are a recipe for disaster,” said Special Agent in Charge of the DEA...
PRESS RELEASE

Two defendants sentenced for operating clandestine PCP laboratory that exploded in 2013 fire

ATLANTA – Coleman Warnock and Adrian Banks have been sentenced to federal prison for conspiring to manufacture and possess phencyclidine, a psychedelic controlled substance commonly known as “PCP” and “angel dust,” with intent to distribute. The concealed drug lab they operated in Fulton County exploded in July 2013, and burned...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA issues warning over counterfeit pills

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The United States Drug Enforcement Administration would like to remind people that, aside from the obvious legal jeopardy, purchasing prescription drugs over the internet comes with inherent dangers. D. Christopher Evans, Special Agent in Charge of DEA’s Louisville Field Division, warns that a current investigation into on-line...
PRESS RELEASE

Major heroin trafficker and co-conspirator sentenced

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Two heroin traffickers have been sentenced to federal prison after admitting to their roles in a major drug distribution conspiracy. Gary Johnson, aka “G,” 44, of Savannah, was sentenced to 90 months in federal prison, while Jamison Lanier, aka “Monica Lewinsky,” 36, also of Savannah, was sentenced...
PRESS RELEASE

Mt. Pleasant doctor found guilty in federal court of opioid trafficking after Columbia pharmacy visit

CHARLESTON, S.C. – United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Dr. Ronald A. Hargrave, 60, of Mt. Pleasant, has been convicted of illegal distribution of controlled substances after a four-day jury trial in federal court in Charleston. Senior United States District Judge Margaret B. Seymour of Charleston presided...
PRESS RELEASE

Myrtle Beach drug boss sentenced to over nine years in federal prison on oxycodone conspiracy charge

FLORENCE, S.C. – United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Leroy Anthony Griffin, 31, of Myrtle Beach, S.C., was sentenced to over nine years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute Oxycodone. Evidence presented to the court showed that...