DEA Archived Press Releases

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

West Haven Woman Who Diverted Narcotics from Dying VA Medical Center Patients is Sentenced

HARTFORD, Conn. - Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that TARA SEVERINO, 58, of West Haven, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to two years of probation, the first six months of which Severino must serve...
PRESS RELEASE

Two Houston Men Sentenced to Federal Prison for Burglarizing Pharmacies in Southern Illinois, Missouri

BENTON, Ill. – A district court judge sentenced two Houston, Texas, men to federal prison for burglarizing pharmacies of controlled substances in Casey, Illinois, and Poplar Bluff, Missouri. McKindley V. Allen, 32, and DaLeon J. Fontennet, 28, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary involving controlled substances, conspiracy to distribute...
PRESS RELEASE

Nurse Pleads Guilty to Illegally Obtaining Fentanyl from Hospital

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Osage Beach, Mo., nurse pleaded guilty in federal court today to illegally obtaining fentanyl from a hospital for his own use. Charles Welch Jr., 65, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark to a federal...
PRESS RELEASE

San Antonio Man Sentenced to 28 Years in Federal Prison for Armed Pharmacy Robberies

SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man was sentenced to 339 months in federal prison for three counts of pharmacy robbery and three counts of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. According to court documents, from October to December 2020, Atseko Factor, 40, and...
PRESS RELEASE

Court Orders North Carolina Pharmacy to Pay $500,000 Penalty and Enters Injunction to Prevent Filling Illegal Controlled Substance Prescriptions

WASHINGTON – A federal court ordered an Elkin, North Carolina, pharmacy to pay a $500,000 penalty and enjoined the pharmacy and its pharmacists from dispensing controlled substances, including opioids, without taking steps to help ensure the drugs will not be abused or diverted. The consent decree resolves a complaint filed...
PRESS RELEASE

Madera Pharmacist Sentenced to over 7 Years in Prison for Illegally Trafficking Hundreds of Thousands of Opiate Pills

FRESNO, Calif. — Ifeanyi Vincent Ntukogu, 49, of Fresno, was sentenced today to seven years and three months in prison for illegally distributing oxycodone and hydrocodone. Ntukogu was a pharmacist in Madera who dispensed more than 450,000 oxycodone and hydrocodone pills based on fraudulent prescriptions, all in exchange for cash...
PRESS RELEASE

Nearly 630,000 Pounds of Unneeded Medications Collected on DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day

MIAMI — Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and more than 4,400 law enforcement partners recently collected nearly 630,000 pounds of unused medications at 4,600 locations nationwide. This effort to empty medicine cabinets helps prevent drug misuse before it starts. Since its inception, DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day has removed...
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

‘Avengers’ actor Jeremy Renner joins forces with 750 students for purposeful Northern Nevada Opioid Youth Summit

RENO, Nevada – Over 700 students representing multiple high schools and middle schools in Washoe County and Douglas County participated in the Northern Nevada Opioid Youth Summit, on Tuesday, September 24. ‘Avengers’ actor Jeremy Renner and ‘Wolf Pack’ announcer Taylor Morgan were among presenters, who stepped up to the plate...
PRESS RELEASE

Ohio Men Sentenced for Burglarizing Illinois and Missouri Pharmacies of Controlled Substances

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – A district court judge sentenced two Columbus, Ohio, men to federal prison for burglarizing several pharmacies of oxycodone, hydrocodone and morphine pills with intent to illegally distribute the controlled substances. George H. Cunningham, 42, was sentenced to 100 months in prison and Tarvin M. Hamler...