United States Drug Enforcement Administration

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Federal authorities this morning concluded a 2½-year wiretap investigation into a drug trafficking organization based in the Coachella Valley by arresting eight defendants linked to the distribution of wholesale quantities of methamphetamine. The eight people arrested today by special agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration are among...

LOS ANGELES - The so-called “Bitcoin Maven,” who admitted to operating an unlicensed bitcoin-for-cash exchange business and laundering bitcoin that was represented to be proceeds of narcotics activity, was sentenced today to 12 months and one day in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $20,000...

(SANTA ANA, Calif.) - A man currently on both state parole and federal supervised release has been charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances for selling more than one pound of methamphetamine, as well as cocaine. Matthew Belling, 28, of La Mirada, who goes by the moniker “Miagi,” was arrested...

(LOS ANGELES) - David J. Downing, Special Agent in Charge of the Los Angeles Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), announced today that Luis Eduardo Rodriguez has been charged for his role in laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars in narcotics proceeds through Las Vegas real estate, and...

(SANTA ANA, Calif.) - A psychiatrist who practices at a Santa Ana clinic has been arrested on federal charges that allege he issued prescriptions for dangerous and addictive narcotics, such as the opioid oxycodone, without a medical purpose. Dr. Robert Tinoco Perez, 56, of Westminster, was arrested Friday by special...

(LOS ANGELES) - David J. Downing, Special Agent in Charge of the Los Angeles Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today the extradition of Filippo Magni, who is charged, along with co-defendant...

(LOS ANGELES) - A former Los Angeles Police Department officer whose garage explosion revealed the makeshift lab where he used butane to extract hash oil containing tetrahydrocannabinol, or “THC,” from marijuana plants, was sentenced to five years in federal prison. Joseph Jay Spadafore, 64, of Menifee was sentenced this morning...

EL PASO – An alleged Sinaloa Cartel member is in federal custody, following his extradition from Mexico to the United States yesterday afternoon. He is expected to make his initial appearance later today in federal court in El Paso. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney John F. Bash for...

EL PASO – A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced 55-year-old former Chihuahua, Mexico State Police Officer Mario De La O Lopez (aka “Flaco”) to 324 months in federal prison for his role in Sinaloa Cartel narcotics distribution operations. In addition to the prison term, United States District Judge Frank Montalvo...

LOS ANGELES - More than 500 law enforcement personnel executed a major operation this morning, taking into custody 32 defendants who are charged in two federal racketeering indictments, one of which outlines how members of the Mexican Mafia were able to control drug smuggling, narcotics sales and the extortion of...