DEA Archived Press Releases

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

U.S. Attorney’s Office and DEA Announce Fatal Fentanyl Overdose Task Force

Baltimore, Maryland – Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland and Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division, announced that their agencies have formed the Maryland Fatal Fentanyl Overdose Task Force (“MFFOTF”). The alarming rate of overdoses in Maryland has...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA Washington Division Saw a Surge of Over 250% in Fentanyl Pill Seizures in 2023

Washington, DC – The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division, which covers the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) confiscated more than 639,000 fentanyl pills and 189 pounds of fentanyl powder in 2023. This amount represents more than a three-fold increase in the number of fake pills laced with...
PRESS RELEASE

Maryland U.S. Attorney Recognizes the Contributions of Law Enforcement Partners to Reduce Violent Crime in 2023

Baltimore, Maryland – At a press conference earlier today, U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron, thanked federal, state and local law enforcement partners in the fight against violent crime in Maryland. The teamwork, community-based partnerships, and strategic law enforcement initiatives helped make a difference in reducing homicides in Baltimore in 2023...
PRESS RELEASE

Leader of Southwest Baltimore “NFL” Gang Sentenced

Baltimore, MD – U.S. District Judge Julie R. Rubin sentenced NFL gang leader Gregory Butler, a/k/a “Gotti,” “Sags,” and “Little Dick,” age 31, of Baltimore, Maryland, yesterday to 30 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise related to...
PRESS RELEASE

Brother and Sister Plead Guilty to Drug Conspiracy Involving Fentanyl Sales

WASHINGTON – Larry Jerome Eastman, 22, of Temple Hills, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute Fentanyl. His sister, Justice Michelle Eastman, 26, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty on January 31st. The pleas were announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Special Agent...
PRESS RELEASE

Prince William Drug Dealer Sentenced for Causing Multiple Overdoses

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Dumfries man was sentenced today to 30 years in prison for distribution of fentanyl resulting in death and serious bodily injury, and possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl. According to court documents, on September 21, 2021, Michael Vaughn, 28, distributed cocaine laced with fentanyl at...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA Washington Division Announces the Seizure of Over 8 Million of Deadly Doses of Fentanyl in 2022

Washington DC – The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division seized over 8.3 million potentially deadly doses of fentanyl in 2022. The division, which covers the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia confiscated nearly 160,000 fake pills containing fentanyl, and more than 250 pounds of fentanyl powder throughout the year...
PRESS RELEASE

Indictment Charges Eight Members of Alleged D.C. Drug Gang With Conspiracy

WASHINGTON – An indictment was unsealed today charging eight individuals in a drug conspiracy. Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and officers with the Metropolitan Police and Prince George’s County Police Departments arrested seven of the defendants yesterday. Melvin Grayson, 49, of District...
PRESS RELEASE

Woodbridge Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing Narcotics to 14-Year-Old

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Woodbridge man pleaded guilty yesterday to distributing a Schedule II controlled substance to a person under age twenty-one. According to court documents, in April of 2022, Latae'veion Woods, 21, sold pills purporting to be Percocet to a 14-year-old, who died of a fentanyl overdose approximately five...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA Washington Division Hosts 1st Family Summit to Engage with Families Affected by Fentanyl Poisoning

WASHINGTON, DC – The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) hosted regional family summits across the country in support of those who have lost loved ones to fentanyl poisoning. This is the first undertaking of its kind for the DEA field divisions and builds off the momentum of this summer’s Inaugural Family...