DEA Archived Press Releases

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

Leaders of Colombian Drug Trafficking Organization Plead Guilty to Conspiring to Smuggle over 43,000 Kilos of Cocaine into the United States

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...
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

Three Charged in Fentanyl/Heroin Packaging Operation in the Bronx: Over 13 Pounds of Illicit Drug Mixtures Seized

As part of an ongoing investigation into fentanyl/heroin trafficking in New York City, federal, state and local law enforcement officers recovered over 13 pounds of drug mixtures, including fentanyl, heroin, xylazine, methamphetamine, and cocaine, from inside a packaging mill. The drugs are estimated to carry a street value of over...
PRESS RELEASE

U.S. Attorney's Office, DEA and HSI Announce Charges Against Fourteen Individuals in Major Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

ALBUQUERQUE – This week, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the U.S. Marshal Service, the Las Cruces Police Department, and the Doña Ana Sheriff’s Office, conducted a coordinated operation to dismantle a significant drug trafficking network in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The operation targeted 15...
PRESS RELEASE

Orlando Drug Trafficker Sentenced to Federal Prison

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday has sentenced Matias Sanchez Cardosa, Jr. (53, Orlando) to 14 years in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. Cardosa entered a guilty plea on June 10, 2024. According to court documents, on March...
PRESS RELEASE

16 Defendants Charged in Superseding Indictment Alleging Bulk Shipments of Cocaine to Canada, Four Murders

LOS ANGELES – A Canadian former Olympic snowboarder and 15 other defendants have been charged in a 16-count superseding indictment for allegedly running and participating in a transnational drug trafficking operation that routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine, from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada and other...
PRESS RELEASE

Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 46 Months in Prison for Fentanyl Distribution and Money Laundering

OAKLAND, Calif. – Christian Grajeda-Varela, a Honduran national who pleaded guilty to fentanyl trafficking and money laundering, was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison. The sentence was handed down by the Hon. Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr., United States District Judge. Grajeda-Varela, 25, was charged by indictment on Aug. 2...
PRESS RELEASE

Sacramento Man Is 11th Defendant Sentenced in Large-Scale Cocaine and Heroin Trafficking Conspiracy

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Tyrone Anderson, 44, of Sacramento, was sentenced today to 11 years and three months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute at least 5,000 grams of cocaine and 280 grams of cocaine base and for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent...
PRESS RELEASE

Fifty Pounds of Cocaine and Packages of Fentanyl Seized from Interstate Trafficker in Queens

A Queens man was arraigned today on charges related to an investigation into interstate narcotics trafficking and the seizure of approximately 23 kilograms (50 pounds) of cocaine and packages of fentanyl, carrying a street value of more than $1 million. Members of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) New Jersey...
PRESS RELEASE

Columbian National Admits Conspiracy to Import 15 Kilograms of Cocaine

NEWARK, N.J. – A Columbian citizen admitted conspiring to import 15 kilograms of cocaine into the United States from Columbia, DEA New York Division Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino, and U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. Savier Cervantes, 37, of Cartagena, Colombia, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Evelyn...