United States Drug Enforcement Administration

EL PASO - Today in El Paso, federal authorities filed two criminal complaints charging five individuals for smuggling an estimated $5.4 million worth of marijuana and methamphetamine and 77 illegal aliens, announced U.S. Attorney Gregg N. Sofer, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Erik P. Breitzke, Drug Enforcement...

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – A member of a multi-state drug ring will be spending the rest of the decade behind bars. Lendarious Hayes, 24, of Meridian, Mississippi, has been sentenced to 135 months (11 years and 3 months) in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and money laundering...

SAN DIEGO – The Drug Enforcement Administration San Diego Field Division presented awards to several federal prosecutors for their exemplary service and dedication to DEA’s mission in San Diego and the surrounding counties. “It was an honor and a privilege to recognize these Assistant U.S. Attorneys along with U.S. Attorney...

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The mastermind behind an extensive drug trafficking ring entered a guilty plea this week, and four other defendants either entered pleas or were sentenced recently to substantial terms in prison for distributing large amounts of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine in Newport News and North Carolina. “This...

CHICAGO – Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Robert J. Bell, Chicago Field Division announced the expansion of Operation Crystal Shield. This expansion includes the designation of two additional methamphetamine “transportation hubs” in 2021. Through this effort, DEA is attacking the entire supply chain, locating and seizing meth...

WILMINGTON , N.C. – Ashley Shackelford, 35, of Duplin County, was sentenced yesterday to 90 months imprisonment for: (1) Conspiracy to Possess with the Intent to Distribute and Distribute 500 grams of a mixture and substance containing Methamphetamine; and (2) Possess with the Intent to Distribute of 500 grams of...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield woman was sentenced in federal court today for leading a conspiracy that distributed more than 15 kilograms of methamphetamine in a three-county area. Christina E. Gauger, 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 17 years in federal prison without parole. Law...

HARTFORD, Conn. – DEA New England Division Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Boyle and John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Keith Jordan, also known as “Knowledge,” 52, of Waterbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall to 120 months...

BRUNSWICK, Ga. -- Seven people have been charged in a drug trafficking conspiracy in an indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court. “The dangerous substance Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin. The combination of these deadly substances has...

NEW YORK CITY – The New York Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seized an alarming amount of methamphetamine and fentanyl during 2020. In Fiscal Year 2020, there was a 214% increase in methamphetamine and 59% rise in fentanyl seized in New York, in comparison to 2019. These...