DEA Archived Press Releases

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

Fort Myers men indicted for a drug trafficking conspiracy that included the killing of an informant

TAMPA, Fla. – An indictment charging Robert Lee Ward 40, Fort Myers with conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and tampering with an informant by killing him/her was unsealed today. The indictment also charges Dalton Kelvin McGriff 49, Fort Myers with conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA achieves significant milestone during 16th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day

MIAMI – With the robust participation of Americans nationwide, DEA and its law enforcement partners have now surpassed its 10 million pound goal and collected nearly 11 million pounds of unused, unwanted or expired prescription medications over the course of 16 successful DEA National Prescription Drug Take Back events. During...
PRESS RELEASE

Rolling 30s Crips gang member sentenced to prison

ORLANDO, Fl a. - Jose Ramon Rivera (23, Orlando) was sentenced to 10 years and 11 months in federal prison for distributing heroin and methamphetamine, possessing firearms as a convicted felon, and carrying a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime. Rivera pleaded guilty on July 12, 2018. According to court documents...
PRESS RELEASE

Former Miami-Dade County resident sentenced to over 12 years in prison for attempted international narcotics trafficking

MIAMI - On Sept. 28, 2018, Richard Senese, 39, a former Miami-Dade County resident was sentenced to 12.5 years in prison, to be followed by 5 years of supervised release, for attempted international narcotics trafficking. Senese, formerly of Hialeah, previously pled guilty to attempting to import cocaine into the United...
PRESS RELEASE

Former Miami-Dade County resident sentenced to more than 8 years in prison for bank fraud and money laundering schemes

MIAMI - A former Miami-Dade County resident was sentenced to 97 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $722,000 in restitution for his roles in bank fraud and money laundering schemes. Jose Orlando Sanchez Cristancho, a.k.a. Orlando Sanchez , 57...
PRESS RELEASE

Former Colombian councilman sentenced to fourteen years in prison for conspiring to traffic more than a thousand kilograms of cocaine

TAMPA, Fla., - Aureliano Cuero-Cuero aka "Chavo," 38, of Mosquera, Nariño, Colombia was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute cocaine on board vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Cuero-Cuero pleaded guilty on May 23, 2018. According to court records, Cuero-Cuero was an...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA announces “360 Strategy” in Knoxville to address heroin, prescription drugs and violent crime

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration today announced that Knoxville will be the 13th pilot city to be part of a comprehensive law enforcement and prevention “360 Strategy,” designed to help cities dealing with the heroin and prescription drug abuse epidemic, and the violent crime that accompanies it...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA investigators seeking answers in small Tennessee town

CELINA, Tenn. -- DEA investigators this week conducted inspections at several pharmacy locations in the Clay County, Tennessee town of Celina, following an inquiry into irregular patterns of pill purchases from drug distribution companies. DEA is now investigating possible criminal activity involving the illicit diversion of controlled prescription pharmaceuticals at...
PRESS RELEASE

Lake Worth resident sentenced to 10 years for distributing heroin and fentanyl

WEST PALM BEACH , Fla. - Wilfredo Roy Madrigal, a/k/a “Fredo,” a/k/a “Wolfman,” 34, of Palm Beach County was sentenced yesterday by a federal judge to 10 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, after previously pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin...
PRESS RELEASE

Eleven members of Lakeland Drug Trafficking Organization plead guilty to causing four overdose deaths, overdose resulting in serious bodily injury, and heroin and fentanyl trafficking

TAMPA, Fla. – Eleven members of a drug trafficking organization have pled guilty to charges stemming from conspiracy to distribute more than one kilogram of heroin, 400 hundred grams of fentanyl, and 100 grams of a fentanyl analogue. This distribution resulted in four deaths and in serious bodily injury to...