United States Drug Enforcement Administration

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. –Raymond Maestas, 43, of Albuquerque, New Mexico pleaded guilty in federal court in Albuquerque on February 4th to charges of possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute heroin, carrying a firearm during and relation to a drug trafficking crime...

TUCSON, Ariz. – The Drug Enforcement Administration announced today the arrest of 11 people as the result of the culmination of a year-long joint investigation by the DEA’s Sierra Vista Resident Office along with the Arizona Department of Public Safety’s Border Strike Force, into the alleged drug trafficking activities of...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – U.S. District Judge Judith C. Herrera sentenced Raymond Moya, 36, of Albuquerque, to life imprisonment in federal court today for his conviction on two heroin trafficking offenses, including a distribution of heroin on Aug. 12, 2011, that resulted in the death of Cameron Weiss, an 18-year-old La...

PHOENIX – During an investigation into the drug trafficking activities of 24-year old Marcelino Ontiveros Quintero, DEA Task Force agents and detectives seized approximately 169,150 lethal fentanyl pills from Quintero and his associate, one of the largest fentanyl pill seizures in the state. The DEA Task Force, led by a...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Waldo Nahle, 37, of Albuquerque, New Mexico was sentenced in federal court in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Jan. 10 to more than 20 years (250 months) in prison on three counts of distribution of methamphetamine, two counts of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, and one count of...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Attorney General William P. Barr, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico John C. Anderson and DEA El Paso Division Special Agent in Charge Kyle W. Williamson announced today the launch of Operation Relentless Pursuit, an initiative aimed at combating violent crime in seven of America’s...

PHOENIX – The DEA’s Phoenix Division has finished totaling the amount of drugs collected from those agencies who participated in the October 26th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Arizonans turned out in massive numbers and disposed of 12,371.58 pounds, over six tons, of prescription drugs and vaping products. This...

PHOENIX – The Drug Enforcement Administration is alerting the public of dangerous counterfeit pills killing Americans. Mexican drug cartels are manufacturing mass quantities of counterfeit prescription pills containing fentanyl, a dangerous synthetic opioid that is lethal in minute doses, for distribution throughout North America. Based on a sampling of tablets...

PHOENIX – DEA officials in Arizona announce the 18th National Prescription Drug Take-Back will take place October 26th, from 10 am-2 pm local time. Sites will be set up throughout communities statewide so local residents can anonymously return their unwanted, unneeded, or expired prescription drugs for safe disposal. New to...

PHOENIX – The Drug Enforcement Administration has joined with the Yavapai-Apache Nation in Northern Arizona to deploy DEA’s 360 strategy in the tribal nation and surrounding rural area. The DEA 360 program was developed by DEA in 2015 to address the heroin and the opioid drug crisis across the nation...