United States Drug Enforcement Administration

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...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Alfred Cooke, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Merrillville, Indiana, and U.S. Attorney Clifford D. Johnson for the Northern District of Indiana announced that Juan Aquino, 53, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after pleading...

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...

SEATTLE – Five Seattle-area men are in custody following a grand jury indictment for their drug trafficking activity in Seattle’s homeless encampments and International District, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. The men are charged federally and have made their initial appearances over the last few days. “We are all...

SAN DIEGO – Keith Octavio Rodriguez Padilla, a prolific firearms trafficker, was sentenced in federal court today to 19.5 years in custody for his role in supplying weapons and tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition to the Sinaloa Cartel. This case is part of a long-running investigation targeting the...

FLORENCE, S.C. — A federal grand jury in Florence returned a four-count indictment against Jawan Rayel White, 37; Derrell Sherald, 38; Amon Rasheem Rutledge, 34; Alexis Nicole Loscar, 30; and Christian Vargas, 21, for conspiracy to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine and fentanyl. The indictment alleges that White, while incarcerated...

RALEIGH, N.C. – Talvin Lamar Brandon, 29, was sentenced to 96 months in prison for armed drug trafficking after hitting an officer’s patrol car as he was fleeing from a traffic stop. On September 3, 2024, Brandon pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500...

RALEIGH, N.C. – Michael Lynn Russell, a 62-year-old resident of Fuquay-Varina, has been sentenced to 120 months in prison after being arrested twice for trafficking methamphetamine. Russell pled guilty on October 8, 2024. “This sentencing reflects the commitment of the Fuquay-Varina Police Department to protecting our community from the devastating...

RALEIGH, N.C. – A New Bern man was sentenced to 40 years in prison for trafficking and distributing methamphetamine and fentanyl for a large-scale drug trafficking operation in Craven County. On August 8, 2024, a Raleigh jury found Lucio Camargo Garcia guilty of the charges. “Garcia took advantage of Craven...

COLUMBUS, Ga. – A Columbus resident with prior state convictions including aggravated assault and illegally possessing a firearm was sentenced to serve more than 14 years in a federal prison this week resulting from an investigation that began in 2019. Quntay Thomas, 40, was sentenced to serve 175 months in...