United States Drug Enforcement Administration

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Defendants previously indicted and later convicted in multiple cases for their participation in a methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana ring operating in Crestview, Fla., were sentenced last week in the Northern District of Florida. The prosecutions were the result of a large-scale multi-agency investigation spearheaded by the...

TAMPA, Fla. – David Burkes (52, Safety Harbor) was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for distributing narcotics, resulting in death to one individual and seriously bodily injury to another. Burkes had pleaded guilty on April 21, 2021. According to the plea agreement, beginning on Aug. 12, 2019, Burkes distributed fentanyl...

TAMPA, Fla. – Jared Collins (28, Pasco County) was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for distributing narcotics, resulting in death. Collins had pleaded guilty on April 27, 2021. According to the plea agreement, on Dec. 16, 2019, Collins distributed narcotics to M.B. in Wesley Chapel. M.B. injected the narcotics and...

WASHINGTON – A Chinese national and naturalized U.S. citizen pleaded guilty yesterday to his involvement in a conspiracy to launder at least $30 million in drug proceeds on behalf of foreign drug-trafficking organizations. Another Chinese national was sentenced to seven years in prison today for his role in the same...

TAMPA, Fla. – A federal jury has found Wilis A. Santiago Rivera (60, St. Petersburg) guilty of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. Santiago faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison. A sentencing date...

WASHINGTON – DEA Administrator Anne Milgram and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Audrey Strauss today announced the extradition two Pakistani citizens, who will face charges for attempting to import large quantities of heroin into the United States. Maulabaksh Gorgeech and Niamatullah Gorgeech were taken into custody...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. –Taree Lamott Armstrong, 30, of Haines City, Florida, has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to multiple drug-trafficking offenses. Jason R. Coody, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the sentence. According to court documents, on March 25, 2020...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A federal jury in Tallahassee has convicted Daniel Gutierrez, 37, of San Luis, Arizona of possession of methamphetamine and fentanyl with the intent to distribute. The guilty verdict, returned yesterday at the conclusion of a three-day trial, was announced by Jason R. Coody, Acting United States Attorney...

MIAMI – On July 16, 2021, a South Florida federal magistrate judge ordered pre-trial detention for 37- year-old Lazaro Alfredo Ramirez-Alvarado, finding that he presents a risk of flight and danger to the community if released. Pursuant to the order, Ramirez-Alvarado will remain in jail, without bond, pending his trial...

OCALA, Fla. – An indictment was unsealed today charging Devonne L. Walker, 35, of Lady Lake, Florida, Tymane D. Hamilton, 29, of Phoenix, Arizona, and Kanisha D. Savage, 28, of Phoenix, Arizona with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison...