DEA Archived Press Releases

Press Releases before January 20, 2025
53 Results - Showing 1 to 10
PRESS RELEASE

Las Cruces Man Pleads Guilty To Participating In Dona Ana County Cocaine Trafficking Ring

ALBUQUERQUE - Juan Velazquez, 26, of Las Cruces, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to distributing cocaine and participating in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine in Doña Ana County, N.M. Velazquez was arrested in Sept. 2016, on an indictment alleging cocaine trafficking charges. The 18-count...
PRESS RELEASE

Former Pharmacy Technician From Carlsbad Pleads Guilty To Misdemeanor Crime For Unlawful Possession Of Oxycodone

ALBUQUERQUE - Amber Kay Otero, 31, of Carlsbad, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to the misdemeanor offense of unlawfully possessing a controlled substance. Otero was arrested on Sept. 23, 2016, following an investigation initiated after the DEA received a report of theft or loss...
PRESS RELEASE

Former Santa Fe Pharmacist Pleads Guilty And Is Sentenced For Conviction On Misdemeanor Charge Of Dispensing Testosterone Without A Prescription

ALBUQUERQUE - David Nunez of Santa Fe, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to the misdemeanor offense of dispensing a controlled substance, testosterone, without a prescription. Nunez was a licensed pharmacist and the owner of a pharmacy in Santa Fe at the time he committed the...
PRESS RELEASE

Members Of Taos County-Based Heroin Trafficking And Money Laundering Ring Enter Guilty Pleas

ALBUQUERQUE - Ivan Romero, 40, the leader of a heroin trafficking organization based in Taos County, N.M. pleaded guilty earlier this week to federal heroin and money laundering charges filed as the result of a 15-month DEA-led multi-agency investigation. His brother, Ricco Romero, 29, and his wife, Melissa Romero, 37...
PRESS RELEASE

Last Of Three Defendants Convicted For Role In Murder Of Southlake, Texas, Man Is Sentenced

(FORT WORTH - , Texas - The last of three defendants convicted for their respective roles in the May 2013 murder of Juan Jesus Guerrero Chapa in Southlake, Texas, Jesus Gerardo Ledezma-Cepeda, a/k/a “Chuy” and “Juan Ramos,” was sentenced this morning by Senior U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means to...
PRESS RELEASE

Dallas Man Sentenced For Role In Conspiracy To Transport, Or Assist In Transporting, A Substance Represented To Be Cocaine

DALLAS - A Dallas-area man who admitted to his role in transporting a substance that was represented to be cocaine on flights from Dallas-Fort Worth International (DFW) was sentenced today to a lengthy federal prison sentence, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas. Funaki Falahola, 35...
PRESS RELEASE

Dallas Woman Sentenced To 150 Months In Federal Prison On Methamphetamine Conviction

DALLAS - A Dallas woman, Manuela Esperanza Pavon, 35, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey to 150 months in federal prison, following her guilty plea in April 2016 to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District...
PRESS RELEASE

Dallas Methamphetamine Traffickers Sentenced

DALLAS - Two Dallas men who were convicted on methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy charges were sentenced last week by Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn to lengthy federal prison terms, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas. Jose Mario Chavez-Bravo, a/k/a “Rafael Lua-Maguna” and “Mickey,”...
PRESS RELEASE

Dallas Drug Traffickers Receive Lengthy Federal Prison Sentences

DALLAS - Santiago Veliz, 29, of Dallas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 140 months in federal prison following his guilty plea in May 2016 to a felony Information charging one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney John...
PRESS RELEASE

Heroin Dealer Connected To The Overdose Death Of A Texas Woman Is Arrested On Federal Drug Charge

DALLAS - Nancy Pineda, 27, of Farmers Branch, Texas, remains in federal custody today following her arrest late Friday evening by investigators with the Farmers Branch Police Department and special agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration on a federal criminal complaint stemming from her selling the heroin that caused a...