DEA Archived Press Releases

Press Releases before January 20, 2025
781 Results - Showing 311 to 320
PRESS RELEASE

Colombian submarine manufacturer pleads guilty to cocaine smuggling charges

TAMPA, Fla. - Alexander Giraldo Santa (48, Colombia) has pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine while aboard a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. He faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. According to...
PRESS RELEASE

Dunedin woman pleads guilty to distributing heroin and fentanyl, causing death

TAMPA, Fla. -- Heidi Kalous, 39, of Dunedin, Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiring and distributing a substance that contained a mixture of heroin, fentanyl, and acetyl fentanyl, causing the death of an individual. She faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA announces launch of Operation Crystal Shield

MIAMI – Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon today announced that the DEA will direct enforcement resources to methamphetamine “transportation hubs” — areas where methamphetamine is often trafficked in bulk and then distributed across the country. While continuing to focus on stopping drugs being smuggled across the border, DEA’s...
PRESS RELEASE

Jacksonville heroin dealer sentenced to five years in federal prison

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Albert Vincent Hicks, 48, of Jacksonville, was sentenced to five years in federal prison for distributing heroin. Hicks pleaded guilty on August 21, 2019. According to court documents, on October 26, 2017, Hicks sold more than 25 grams of heroin to a confidential informant. On November 16...
PRESS RELEASE

Orlando man sentenced to twenty years for distributing fentanyl that resulted in overdose death

ORLANDO, Fla. - Jonathan Bohn, aka "Jonah," 35, of Orlando was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for distributing a controlled substance that resulted in death. A federal jury found Bohn guilty on December 4, 2019. According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, on December 15, 2017, Bohn...
PRESS RELEASE

Riverview man pleads guilty to distributing more than a kilogram of cocaine

TAMPA, Fla. – Emmanuel de la Cruz, 40, of Riverview, today pleaded guilty to distributing cocaine. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. According to the plea agreement, a confidential source (CS) negotiated with de la Cruz to...
PRESS RELEASE

St. Petersburg cocaine trafficker sentenced to more than 9 years’ imprisonment

TAMPA, Fla. - Mario D. Heatly (39, St. Petersburg) was sentenced to nine years and four months in federal prison for possessing 500 grams or more of cocaine with the intent to distribute it. Heatly had pleaded guilty on September 26, 2019. According to court documents, law enforcement officers executed...
PRESS RELEASE

Pain clinic owner pleads guilty to tax evasion and money laundering

TAMPA, Fla. - Tom Wynne pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit tax evasion, one count of tax evasion, and seven counts of money laundering. He faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in federal prison for each of the tax-related counts and up to 10 years in...
PRESS RELEASE

Ocala men sentenced up to twenty years for conspiring to distribute cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl

OCALA, Fla. - Jeremy Jermaine Willis (37, Ocala) was sentenced today to 20 years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl. The court also sentenced co-defendants Gary Eugene Hayes (38, Ocala) and Darren Michael Beatty (30, Ocala) to 15 years each in federal prison, for their...
PRESS RELEASE

Federal jury convicts Colombian national for international cocaine smuggling conspiracy

TAMPA, Fla. - A federal jury has found Emiro Hinestroza-Newbbooll (48, Colombia) guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine while onboard a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, and one count of...