DEA Archived Press Releases

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

Leaders of Colombian Drug Trafficking Organization Plead Guilty to Conspiring to Smuggle over 43,000 Kilos of Cocaine into the United States

TAMPA, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Jorge Hernan Gonzalez-Ortiz, 50, of Colombia, and Carlos Andres Aldana-Gil, 43, also of Colombia, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States. Each faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. A sentencing date...
PRESS RELEASE

Four People Sentenced to Prison for Distributing Fentanyl

MIAMI – Four South Florida residents have been sentenced to federal prison for distributing fentanyl and meth. On Jan. 16, Gito St. Fort, 35, of West Palm Beach, Fla., a career criminal, was sentenced to 320 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to distribution of a controlled substance resulting...
PRESS RELEASE

Jury Convicts Missouri Man of Meth Trafficking, Illegal Firearms

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Portageville, Mo., man has been convicted in a jury trial of trafficking methamphetamine and illegally possessing firearms. Michael C. Patton, 36, was found guilty on Tuesday, Jan. 14, of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and being...
PRESS RELEASE

Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Selling Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Opioids

MIAMI– On Dec. 10, Blake Alfonso Kolessa, 27, of Greenacres, Fla., was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks for possessing with intent to distribute metonitazene, N-desethyl isotonitazene, and methamphetamine. Kolessa previously pled guilty...
PRESS RELEASE

Former Fugitive Found Guilty at Trial of Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Billy Ruiz (46, California) guilty of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Ruiz faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each count. His...
PRESS RELEASE

Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Selling Fentanyl That Killed One Woman, Hospitalized Another

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Thursday sentenced a man who sold the fentanyl that killed one woman and sent another to the hospital in one day in 2019 to 14 years in prison. Zachary Hovis, 24, provided fentanyl to an 18-year-old woman in the parking...
PRESS RELEASE

Man Indicted after DEA Seizes Large Quantities of Drugs, Weapons

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Raytown, Mo., man was indicted by a federal grand jury today after federal agents found large quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin in his residence along with several firearms. Jauan D. Pratt, 30, was charged in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury...
PRESS RELEASE

Career Offender Sentenced for Meth Distribution

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Fulton, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. Clayton Key Craddock, 40, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 15 years and eight months in federal prison without parole. Craddock was sentenced as...
PRESS RELEASE

Defendant Pleads Guilty of Fentanyl Distribution

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to illegally possessing more than a kilogram of fentanyl and 14 firearms. Proevine Lennox Robins, 51, pleaded guilty to one count possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute and one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of...
PRESS RELEASE

Illinois Man Sentenced to More Than 23 Years in Prison for Selling Fatal Fentanyl

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Tuesday sentenced a man who sold the fake Percocet pills that killed a man in St. Louis County in 2022 to 23 years and eight months in prison. “I’m going to send a message to other drug dealers,” said Judge...