DEA Archived Press Releases

Press Releases before January 20, 2025
435 Results - Showing 181 to 190
PRESS RELEASE

Accused Major Heroin Trafficker Extradited from Colombia for Prosecution in New York City

NEW YORK - An accused major trafficker was extradited from Colombia to face charges associated with smuggling and selling multi-kilogram quantities of heroin in New York City and for coordinating an international money-laundering scheme. Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New...
PRESS RELEASE

Federal Charges Brought Against Stanislaus County Men After 440 Pounds of Methamphetamine Seized

FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today against Hugo Vigil Villagomez, 42, of Oakdale, and Serafin Villagomez Vigil, 27, of Riverbank, charging them with possessing and conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert and...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA Los Angeles Field Division Makes Historic Seizure of Approximately 1 Million Fentanyl Pills

LOS ANGELES - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Los Angeles Field Division High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Group 48, seized approximately 1 million fake pills containing fentanyl in Inglewood, Calif. earlier this month. This record-breaking bust is the largest seizure of fentanyl pills DEA has made in California...
PRESS RELEASE

Federal Indictment Names 14 Defendants in Drug-Distribution Conspiracy Coordinated from Inside a Georgia Prison

BRUNSWICK, GA – A newly unsealed federal indictment charges 14 defendants in a South Georgia drug trafficking conspiracy alleged to have been directed from inside a Georgia state prison. The indictment in Operation Pope’s G.O.A.L., an Organized Crime Drug Trafficking Task Force investigation, alleges the drug trafficking conspiracy distributed methamphetamine...
PRESS RELEASE

Drug Dealing Pilot Who Attempted to Hire a Hitman is Sentenced to Federal Prison

MEDFORD, Ore.—A Josephine County, Oregon man who distributed marijuana throughout the U.S. using his private airplane, and who hired a hitman to kill a drug trafficking associate, was sentenced to federal prison today. John Tobe Larson, 71, was sentenced to 35 months in federal prison and five years of supervised...
PRESS RELEASE

Eastern Shore Drug Trafficker Pleads Guilty & Sentenced on Drug Charges

Salisbury, Md., -- Eric Holbrook, age 41, of Fruitland, Maryland, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on June 27, 2022, to possession with intent to distribute narcotics and was sentenced to six years imprisonment. According to his guilty plea, during January and February 2020, Holbrook engaged in the distribution of...
PRESS RELEASE

Two Day Stretch in Omaha Nets 32,000 Fake Fentanyl Pills

OMAHA, Neb.–Investigators with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Omaha Division seized approximately 32,000 fake pills in Omaha, some laced with lethal doses of fentanyl, in a two-day span beginning July 8. During the first six months of 2022, DEA investigators seized approximately 151,500 pills in Nebraska, marking an 83 percent...
PRESS RELEASE

Virginia Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute Meth on the Darknet

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Fairfax, Virginia man was sentenced today to 52 months for conspiring to distribute between 15 and 45 kilograms of pills containing methamphetamine via the darknet. According to court documents, from about May 2019 through December 2019, Tyler Pham, 39, conspired to distribute peach tablets advertised as...
PRESS RELEASE

Virginia Drug Dealer Sentenced to Federal Prison for Multi-State Drug Conspiracy and Distribution

Greenbelt, Md – U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced Darick Knighton, age 44, of Alexandria, Virginia, to five years in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and distribution of a controlled substance. The sentence...
PRESS RELEASE

Traffickers Admit to Smuggling Meth in Fire Extinguishers for Cartel

LAREDO, Texas – Two Texas men have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 34.5 kilograms of liquid meth associated with the Cartel Del Noreste (CDN), announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Daniel C. Comeaux, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery. Bonifacio Turrubiates, 48, Laredo...