United States Drug Enforcement Administration

ST. LOUIS – Attorney General William P. Barr and Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Administrator Timothy J. Shea announced the results of Operation Crystal Shield today, DEA’s six-month-long effort targeting the command and control elements of Mexican cartels that operate major methamphetamine “transportation hubs” in the United States. At a press...

ST. LOUIS – At a press conference in Chicago today, Attorney General William P. Barr announced updates on Operation Legend. Since the operation’s launch, there have been more than 2,000 arrests, including defendants who have been charged in state and local courts. Of those arrests, approximately 592 defendants have been...

WICHITA, Kan. – Kathy De La Torre, 24, Wichita, Kan., is charged with one count of distributing fentanyl, one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in March...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Blue Springs, Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine in southwest Missouri. Neal A. Norles, 31, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 30 years in federal prison without parole. On...

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Texas man who oversaw a drug ring in the Kansas City metro area was sentenced Wednesday to 262 months in federal prison in a case investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration St. Louis Division, Kansas City District Office. Jorge Portillo-Uranga, 36, Teague, Texas, pleaded guilty...

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – Two defendants who were arrested after their meth lab caught fire were sentenced today to federal prison. Orlando Cortez-Nieto, 43, and Jesus Cervantes-Aguiler, 23, both of Kansas City, Kan., were sentenced to 20 years each. During a jury trial in July 2019, the defendants were convicted...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – U.S. Attorney Tim Garrison announced today that 355 arrests have been made by local and federal law enforcement officers in Operation LeGend. Among those arrested since the launch of the operation, 88 are federal defendants in the Western District of Missouri, and 21 are federal defendants...

ST. LOUIS – Joshua Matthew Spencer, 30, of Franklin County, Missouri, was sentenced today to 10 years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to his involvement in conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to court documents, Spencer...

KANSAS CITY, Kan. –Anthony Contreras, 22, Overland Park, Kan., is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, one count of distributing fentanyl and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. The crimes are alleged to have occurred July 22...

TOPEKA, Kan. – A Kansas man was charged in a federal indictment unsealed today with growing thousands of poppy plants at his home in Clay County in an effort to manufacture heroin, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said. Matthew Pfeiffer, 43, Morganville, Kan., is charged with one count of attempting to...