United States Drug Enforcement Administration

CINCINNATI – A defendant was sentenced today in the first federally indicted carfentanil prosecution in the country. Phillip Watkins, 34, of Cincinnati, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 300 months in prison for conspiring to distribute heroin laced with carfentanil and attempting to murder a witness he believed...

DEA’s El Paso Division, which covers West Texas and New Mexico, is issuing this safety bulletin to remind the public not to purchase pills or medications from street dealers. Recently DEA El Paso learned that certain pills, which are being sold on the street and have similar markings to legitimate...

DAYTON, Ohio – The lead defendant in a Southwestern Ohio methamphetamine conspiracy pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court last Friday. Salvador Ramirez (also known as Listo), 24, of West Chester is the final defendant to plead in this case. Timothy J. Plancon, Special Agent in Charge, United States Drug Enforcement...

DETROIT – Two men from California were sentenced this month for their role in a drug conspiracy that resulted in, what was at the time, the third largest fentanyl seizure in the United States, announced United States Attorney Matthew Schneider. Schneider was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – David L. Dobbins, 39, of Urbancrest, Ohio, was sentenced in United States District Court to 240 months in prison for dealing narcotics that resulted in an overdose death. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. Plancon, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – DEA Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon today unveiled the Drug Enforcement Administration’s 5,500 square foot Drugs: Costs and Consequences travelling exhibit in Albuquerque with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, where it will be housed for the next several months. The...

Albuquerque, N.M. – Francisco Gallegos-Avena, 37, of Guaymas Sonoro, Mexico, pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin. In his plea agreement, Gallegos-Avena admitted he transported approximately 722 grams of heroin in his luggage while traveling through Albuquerque on May...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – United States Attorney Andrew Birge announced today that Alex Alberto Castro received 42 years in prison for conspiring to distribute heroin and cocaine. A federal jury convicted Castro in October 2018. He was the lead defendant of a 20-plus defendant drug trial. Chief United States District...

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Ten people are facing federal drug trafficking charges in New Mexico following an 11-month investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Lea County Drug Task Force. Teams of federal, state, county and local law enforcement officers conducted a major law enforcement operation on Thursday...

CLEVELAND- Six people from Ohio were indicted in federal court for their roles in a health care fraud conspiracy in which Medicaid was billed $48 million for drug and alcohol recovery services which were not provided, not medically necessary, lacked proper documentation, or had other issues that made them ineligible...