United States Drug Enforcement Administration

WASHINGTON - On Friday the U. S. Drug Enforcement (DEA) will publish in the Federal Register the Final Rule moving hydrocodone combination (HCPs) from Schedule III to the more-restrictive Schedule II, as recommended by the Assistant Secretary for Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human (HHS) and as...

PHOENIX - On Aug. 18, 2014, Luis Enrique Villegas-Lugo, 40, of Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Roslyn O. Silverto 17.5 years in prison. Villegas-Lugo pleaded guilty on Feb. 25, 2014 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, a...

PHEONIX - Drug Enforcement (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Doug Coleman announced that on July 31, 2014, John Cary Dean, 28, of Phoenix, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Douglas L. Rayesto 6.5 years in prison. Dean pleaded guilty on Jan. 23, 2014 to two counts of possession with...

PHOENIX - - On July 23, 2014, Ambrosio Nunez-Lopez, 65, of Mexico, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David G. Campbellto 10 years in prison. Nunez-Lopez pleaded guilty on March 18, 2014 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, a felony. The Organized...

WASHINGTON - Seven Colombian nationals were extradited to the United States to face charges relating to the kidnapping and murder of Drug Enforcement (DEA) Special Agent James Terry Watson. Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J...

WASHINGTON - Michele M. Leonhart, Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement (DEA) and Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced terrorism, narcotics, and weapons charges against Florindo Eleuterio Flores-Hala, a/k/a “Comrade Artemio,” Victor Quispe-Palomino, a/k/a “Comrade José,” and Jorge Quispe-Palomino, a/k/a “Raul.” As...

PHOENIX - On June 18, 2014, the final defendant was sentenced in connection with Operation Clean Green - a multi-year investigation conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Internal Revenue Service. Hector Raul Ortiz-Tarazon, Sr. and his son, Hector Francisco Ortiz, Jr. ran a drug trafficking (DTO) that shipped...

TUCSON, Ariz. - U.S. Drug Enforcement (DEA)Special Agent in Charge, Doug Coleman, today announced the seizure of 89 pounds of white heroin and the arrest of seven defendants as part of an 11-month investigation. The seizure marks one of the state’s largest heroin busts. The investigation coined, “Operation Smack Talk”...

PHOENIX - Drug Enforcement (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Doug Coleman today announced that o - n June 9, 2014, John Kweku Eshun, 52, of Ellenwood, Ga., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow to 41 months in prison. Eshun is the 12th and final defendant sentenced in...

PHOENIX - The U.S. Drug Enforcement (DEA) unveiled a billboard in Phoenix, Arizona seeking information for the capture of Mexican drug lord Rafael Caro-Quintero - . The new reward is being offered by the U.S. Department of State under the Narcotics Reward Program for information leading to the arrest and/or...