United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SAN DIEGO - Victor Hugo Anez Vaca Diez, aka Chi Chi, alleged leader of a large-scale transnational criminal organization, was arraigned in federal court yesterday following his extradition to the United States from Argentina. On August 18, 2017, a federal grand jury sitting in the Southern District of California returned...

SAN DIEGO - A jury convicted Nameer Mohammad Atta yesterday in federal court of distributing the fentanyl that led to the fatal overdose of an active-duty lance corporal in the United States Marine Corps on May 21, 2020. According to evidence presented at trial, Atta sold fake “M30” pills containing...

DALLAS, TX - A Dallas man who accepted a delivery of $3.7 million worth of methamphetamine concealed in boxes of cauliflower was sentenced today to life in federal prison, announced Eduardo A. Chavez, Special Agent in Charge of DEA Dallas. Joaquin Salinas, 48, pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to...

SAN DIEGO - Anthony Souza of Ocean Beach was sentenced in federal court today to 12.5 years for conspiracy to distribute 400 grams and more of fentanyl. Souza’s distribution of fentanyl resulted in the fatal overdose of 28-year-old Chad Stevens, also of Ocean Beach. According to his plea agreement, Souza...

DALLAS, TX - Twenty-five alleged drug traffickers have been charged in “Operation Papercheck Fresh,” announced DEA Dallas Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez. During a large-scale operation last Thursday – which involved eight law enforcement agencies targeting nine locations, including a recording studio in Dallas’ Bryan Place neighborhood –...

SAN DIEGO – An indictment was unsealed in federal court today charging 10 alleged members of an Imperial Valley-based methamphetamine distribution network with drug trafficking and money laundering offenses. In addition, three more related defendants were charged today via complaint with drug trafficking offenses. In a coordinated multi-state takedown that...

SAN DIEGO – Lorenzo Anthony Garcia of Brawley, 23, was sentenced in federal court today to 130 months in prison and three years of supervised release for providing the fentanyl that caused the overdose death of Josue M. Garcia Moreno, a young football player from Central Union High School in...

SAN DIEGO – On Sunday, August 21, the Drug Enforcement Administration will recognize National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day by joining the many voices dedicated to educating the public on the serious dangers of fentanyl poisoning from fake pills and other illicit drugs. DEA supports the efforts of several organizations...

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – DEA Special Agent in Charge, Eduardo A. Chávez announced Attorney General John O’Connor filed charges in Oklahoma County against a couple in the death of their 6-year-old son. Harold Belton, 47, and Grashaunda Brooks, 44, are each charged with one count of second-degree murder. Investigators note...

Dallas, TX - A Dallas lawyer has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for conspiring to launder money he believed was linked to narcotics trafficking, the DEA Dallas Special Agent in Charge, Eduardo A. Chávez announced today. Rayshun Jackson, the 52-year-old former defense attorney who ran The Jackson...