DEA Archived Press Releases

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

Five Indicted for Drug Trafficking in “The Jungle” and Seattle’s International District

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...
PRESS RELEASE

Trafficker Sentenced to 19.5 Years in Prison for Supplying Weapons and Ammunition to Sinaloa Cartel

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...
PRESS RELEASE

Man Indicted after DEA Seizes Large Quantities of Drugs, Weapons

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Raytown, Mo., man was indicted by a federal grand jury today after federal agents found large quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin in his residence along with several firearms. Jauan D. Pratt, 30, was charged in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury...
PRESS RELEASE

Mexican National Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison on Drug Charges

BOISE – Efren Alexander Aviles-Pacheco, 29, of Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, illegally living in Ontario, Oregon, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today. Senior U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill also sentenced Aviles-Pacheco to serve 10...
PRESS RELEASE

Drug Trafficker Who Assisted Stepson with Trafficking Ring Tied to Aryan Prison Gangs Sentenced to Over Six Years in Prison

Tacoma – A 66-year-old Tacoma man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 75 months in prison for his leadership role in a drug distribution ring tied to the white supremacist Aryan Family prison gang, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Ronnie Griffin is the stepfather of...
PRESS RELEASE

Over 85 Pounds of Cocaine and Fentanyl, 8 Guns and $420,000 Cash Seized in Williamsburg, Brooklyn: Man Charged as Major Trafficker

A long-term wiretap investigation resulted in the arrest of a Brooklyn man and netted over 39 kilograms (more than 85 pounds) of cocaine and fentanyl, eight loaded firearms, and approximately $420,000 cash from the defendant’s car, which was parked outside of a residential building he owns at 151 Leonard Street...
PRESS RELEASE

Thirteen Arrested after Investigation into Drug Trafficking from New Britain Car Dealership

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Robert Fuller, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and New Britain Police Chief Matthew Marino today announced that the following 13 individuals were arrested yesterday...
PRESS RELEASE

Thirteen Individuals Indicted in Cross-State Drug Trafficking Conspiracy that Used Social Media Apps to Facilitate Drug Distribution and Guns for Drugs

CONCORD, N.H. – An indictment has been unsealed charging thirteen defendants in connection with a cross-border drug trafficking conspiracy that used social media messaging apps to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine, and traded firearms for drugs, U.S Attorney Jane Young announces. According to court documents, over the course of two...
PRESS RELEASE

Thurston County Man Caught Twice with Drugs and Firearms Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison

Seattle – A 53-year-old resident of Rochester, Washington was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 7 years in prison for two federal felonies related to his armed drug trafficking activity. Waylan Graves was arrested twice in a four-month period in 2023, each time with distribution amounts of dangerous...
PRESS RELEASE

Nine Men Arrested in Maine Massachusetts for Fentanyl, Meth and Cocaine Trafficking

BOSTON – Nine men have been arrested for fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking. Ernesto Arberty Mendez Herrera, 43, of Roxbury; Ricky Junior Rodriguez Reynoso, 24, of Boston; Cristofel Baez Guerrero, 25, of Dorchester; Luis Castillo, 24, of Dorchester; Yomerli Mendez Arias, 22 , of Lawrence; Estarling Perez Almonte, 28, of...