United States Drug Enforcement Administration

Seattle- As U.S. overdose deaths reach a devastating new height, claiming a new victim every five minutes, the Drug Enforcement Administration has revealed a direct link between fentanyl-related overdose deaths and criminal drug networks in Mexico. These groups are harnessing social media platforms to bring drugs laced with fentanyl and...

EUGENE, Ore. —A Winston, Oregon man was sentenced to federal prison today for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, which he had been selling in and around Douglas County, Oregon. Steven Dwayne Lander, 60, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release. According to court...

Spokane - Esther Rae Tuller, age 40, of Moses Lake, Washington, has pleaded guilty to tampering with morphine medication while working as a registered nurse. Chief United States District Judge Stanley A. Bastian accepted Tuller’s guilty plea and scheduled a sentencing hearing for March 17, 2022, in Spokane. According to...

Tacoma- A 28-year-old citizen of Mexico was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 46 months in prison for his drug-dealing activity in Western Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Omar Arellano-Hernandez had traveled to the Pacific Northwest from Mexico and was staying at a Tukwila hotel when...

DENVER – Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Denver Field Division, alongside Rocky Mountain HIDTA and the 18th Judicial District, announced the indictment of 19 individuals and arrest of 10 individuals as a part of an investigation into a poly-drug trafficking organization operating in the greater Denver area of Colorado. In...

BOISE – A Nampa man was sentenced to 108 months in federal prison for possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. According to court records, Patrick William Collingwood, 39, of Nampa, transported methamphetamine and cash between Mexico and Idaho for a period of approximately four months before his arrest...

Seattle – Three men who were convicted at trial in August 2021, of multiple federal felonies for distributing fentanyl pills in Snohomish, Skagit, and Whatcom Counties, were sentenced to lengthy prison terms, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. The leader of the drug ring, Bradley Woolard, 41, of Arlington, was sentenced...

COEUR D’ALENE – Dr. Eric Benson, an internist practicing medicine in Post Falls, Idaho, agreed to pay $110,000 to resolve allegations that he unlawfully prescribed opioids and other controlled substances to patients between 2014-2021. The settlement, which was based in part on Dr. Benson’s ability to pay, also restricts the...

BOISE – Luis Leyva Verduzco was sentenced to 82 months in federal prison for possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. According to court records, beginning in early 2020, law enforcement received information that Verduzco, 32, a Mexican national living in Jerome, was involved in the distribution of methamphetamine...

SPOKANE, Washington – Christopher M. Valley, N.D., a Spokane-based naturopathic doctor, has agreed to pay $47,700 to resolve allegations under the Controlled Substances Act that he improperly prescribed controlled substances between December 2015 and December 2020. The Controlled Substances Act regulates certain drugs deemed to pose a risk of abuse...