DEA Archived Press Releases

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

U.S. Attorney's Office and DEA Announce Federal Charges Against Albuquerque Based Drug Trafficking Organization

ALBUQUERQUE – Five members of a drug trafficking organization based in Albuquerque have been charged in federal court with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. Tomas Rubalcaba, 45, Joaquin Rubalcada, 40, and Humberto Gastelum, 65, appeared before a federal judge last week and will remain in custody pending...
PRESS RELEASE

California Man Sentenced for Federal Drug Trafficking Charges

ALBUQUERQUE – A California man was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison for attempting to transport over 2 kilograms of heroin by train from Bernalillo County to North Carolina. There is no parole in the federal system. According to court documents, on February 26, 2021, Mario A. Serna was...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA-Led Investigation Dismantles Albuquerque-Based Drug Trafficking Organization

Note: View the Superseding Indictment . ALBUQUERQUE – Towanda R. Thorne-James, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's El Paso Division and Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced the results of a law enforcement operation that resulted in fifteen defendants being...
PRESS RELEASE

Albuquerque Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Drug Trafficking Offenses

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Eric Castañeda, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s El Paso Division, and Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Rafael Columbie was sentenced to 10 years in prison. A federal jury convicted Columbie, 54, of...
PRESS RELEASE

Leader of Southwest Baltimore “NFL” Gang Sentenced

Baltimore, MD – U.S. District Judge Julie R. Rubin sentenced NFL gang leader Gregory Butler, a/k/a “Gotti,” “Sags,” and “Little Dick,” age 31, of Baltimore, Maryland, yesterday to 30 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise related to...
PRESS RELEASE

Henrico Man Sentenced on Drug Trafficking and Firearm Charges

RICHMOND, Va. – A Henrico County man was sentenced today to 110 months in prison for drug trafficking and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking. According to court documents, Anthony Sylvester Gaines, 42, rented an extended stay hotel room in Henrico County where he was storing and preparing...
PRESS RELEASE

Greene County Man Indicted for Possessing Over 10,000 Fentanyl Pills and a Kilogram of Fentanyl Powder

Charlottesville, Va.- A federal grand jury in Charlottesville, Virginia returned an indictment yesterday charging a Greene County man with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine - among other charges - after officers found more than 10,000 fentanyl pills in his possession, as well...
PRESS RELEASE

Indictment Charges Eight Members of Alleged D.C. Drug Gang With Conspiracy

WASHINGTON – An indictment was unsealed today charging eight individuals in a drug conspiracy. Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and officers with the Metropolitan Police and Prince George’s County Police Departments arrested seven of the defendants yesterday. Melvin Grayson, 49, of District...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA El Paso Division Announces the Seizure of Over 9 Million Deadly Doses of Fentanyl in 2022

El Paso – A few weeks ago, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced the seizure of over 50.6 million fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills and more than 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder this calendar year. The El Paso Division, which covers West Texas and the whole state of New Mexico, seized 2,886,783...
PRESS RELEASE

Federal Jury Convicts Albuquerque Man of Drug Trafficking Offenses

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced that a federal jury returned a guilty verdict on Rafael Columbie on Dec. 1. The jury convicted Columbie, 53, of Albuquerque, on one count each of conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute 50 grams...