DEA Archived Press Releases

Press Releases before January 20, 2025
547 Results - Showing 41 to 50
PRESS RELEASE

Utah Sets Record For Fentanyl Pill Seizures

SALT LAKE CITY - With less than six months remaining in 2024, the Drug Enforcement Administration's Rocky Mountain Field Division (RMFD) has already seized nearly 800,000 fentanyl pills in Utah - a new record. In operations between January 1 and June 30, 2024, more than 774,000 fentanyl pills were seized...
PRESS RELEASE

Chinese National Indicted for Importation of Enough Chemicals to Make Millions of Fatal Doses of Fentanyl

HOUSTON - A 48-year-old Chinese national has been indicted for his part in a conspiracy involving the importation of what is believed to be the largest amount of fentanyl precursors found in the Southern District of Texas and one of the largest in the country. Minsu Fang aka Fernando is...
PRESS RELEASE

Member of Fentanyl Trafficking Ring is Sentenced for Distributing Deadly Fentanyl Pills to Members of the Lummi Nation

SEATTLE, Wash. – A Bellingham, Washington woman who was a redistributor for a fentanyl distribution ring was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Seattle. Natasha Parkhill, 38, of Bellingham pleaded guilty in March 2024 and was sentenced today to 4 years in prison. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge...
PRESS RELEASE

Seven Southwest Missouri Residents, Mexican Nationals Indicted for Meth Conspiracy

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Seven defendants who are either southwest Missouri residents or Mexican nationals have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Wilbert Pacheco-Salazar, 36, a citizen of Mexico residing in Springfield, Mo., Frank Lee Chapman, 35, and Omar Rosales-Olmos, 51...
PRESS RELEASE

Northwest Missouri Fentanyl Distributor Sentenced

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Newtown, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in conspiracies to distribute fentanyl in northwest Missouri and to wire the proceeds of drug trafficking to Mexico. Lucas Ryan Coltrain, 24, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark to nine...
PRESS RELEASE

Bend, Oregon Drug Dealer Sentenced to Nine Years in Federal Prison

EUGENE, Oregon—A Bend, Oregon man was sentenced to federal prison for possessing 20 pounds of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. Isaac Kitashima, 48, was sentenced to 108 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release. According to court documents, from August 2020 through June 2021, Kitashima and co-conspirators...
PRESS RELEASE

Three Men Facing Federal Charges in Connection to Seizure of Meth and Thousands of Fentanyl Pills

Spokane, Washington- Vanessa R. Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced today that three men are facing federal drug charges. Osvaldo Guadalupe Soto-Orduno, Jose Roman Lizarraga Gerardo, and Jose Efrain Gonzalez Rodriguez were charged by criminal complaint with Conspiracy to Distribute 400 Grams or More...
PRESS RELEASE

Business Owner Pleads Guilty to Wiring Drug-Trafficking Profits to Mexico

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The owner of an Olathe, Kansas, business pleaded guilty in federal court today to her role in a money-laundering conspiracy to transfer the proceeds of heroin and methamphetamine trafficking to Mexico. A Kansas City, Mo., woman also pleaded guilty to her role in the drug-trafficking conspiracy...
PRESS RELEASE

Former Mexican Lawyer Who Became Major Meth Supplier to Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced to More Than Seven Years in Prison

Tacoma – A former attorney from Mexico was sentenced June 21, 2024, to 90 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Gustavo Castellanos-Tapia, 38, of Burien, Washington, was a significant supplier of methamphetamine to a drug trafficking organization with ties to the...
PRESS RELEASE

Federal Indictment Alleges Alliance Between Sinaloa Cartel and Money Launderers Linked to Chinese Underground Banking

Washington - The Justice Department today announced a 10-count superseding indictment charging Los Angeles-based associates of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel with conspiring with money-laundering groups linked to Chinese underground banking to launder drug trafficking proceeds. During the conspiracy, more than $50 million in drug proceeds flowed between the Sinaloa Cartel...