United States Drug Enforcement Administration

MIAMI – DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day brought in nearly a million pounds of unused, expired, and unwanted medications across the country, the largest amount ever collected in the program’s ten years. Americans once again showed their dedication to remove prescription pills from their homes to prevent addiction...

Jacksonville, Fla. - Nicholas Paul Mattox (50, Jacksonville) was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for distribution of 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine, and Keith Wallace Williams (61, Middleburg) to 5 years in federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of...

MIAMI – Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Acting Administrator Timothy J. Shea today announced that the DEA will direct resources to help reduce violent crime in communities throughout the country. Under this initiative, called Project Safeguard, DEA will identify and prioritize ongoing drug trafficking investigations with a nexus to violent crime...

NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release DEA announces launch of Project Safeguard Operation intensifies DEA’s efforts to combat drug-related violent crime WASHINGTON – Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Administrator Timothy J. Shea today announced that the DEA will direct resources to help reduce violent crime in communities throughout the country. Under this...

SEBRING, Fla . – On September 30, 2010, a multi-agency federal, state, and local task force conducted an operation in which more than 70 people were arrested on drug trafficking and gun marcharges. For more than a year, federal, state, and local law enforcement worked on a massive operation dubbed...

TAMPA, Fla. - Jesus Soto-Martinez (41, Michoacan, Mexico) was sentenced to 21 years and 3 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine while onboard a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, forcibly interfering...

FORT MYERS, Fla. - A federal jury has found Edgar Vazquez (35, Fort Myers) guilty of possessing with the intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine. Vazquez faces a minimum mandatory term of 5 years, and up to 40 years, in federal prison. Vazquez had been indicted on...

TAMPA, Fla. - An indictment charging eight members of a drug trafficking organization with offenses related to the distribution of cocaine and heroin was unsealed today. (See chart for details). According to court records, this investigation targeted illegal drug traffickers operating an open-air drug market in the Robles Park Housing...

OCALA, Fla. - Anthony Michele DeCotis, Jr. (32, Eustis) was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison for possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possessing of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. DeCotis had pleaded guilty on January 29, 2020. According to court records, on August...

TAMPA, Fla. - A 37-count indictment was unsealed today charging five individuals with money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison per count. The indictment also notifies the defendants that the United States is seeking a...