DEA Archived Press Releases

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

Warren County doctor sentenced for illegally distributing opioids and Medicare fraud

ST. LOUIS – Dr. Philip Dean, 62, a resident of Warren County, Missouri, was sentenced today to 40 months of imprisonment and ordered to pay restitution to the Medicare and Medicaid programs in the amount of $312,377. Dr. Dean previously pled guilty today to two felony charges, illegally distributing opiate...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA releases 2018 National Drug Threat Assessment

WASHINGTON – DEA Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon today announced results of the 2018 National Drug Threat Assessment, which outlines the threats posed to the United States by domestic and international drug trafficking and the abuse of illicit drugs. “This report underscores the scope and magnitude of the ongoing opioid crisis...
PRESS RELEASE

Nogales, Sonora police officer sentenced to five years following DEA OCDETF Strike Force investigation

TUCSON, Ariz. – The DEA announced the sentencing of Omar Moreno-Miranda, 33, of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, to 60 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Moreno-Miranda pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine earlier this year. The...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA acts against dangerous, deadly designer synthetic drug linked to 151 overdose deaths since 2015

WASHINGTON – The Drug Enforcement Administration today announced action against a dangerous designer synthetic cathinone linked to 151 overdose deaths in the United States between 2015 and 2018. Published in today’s Federal Register, DEA’s action puts N-Ethylpentylone into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule I substances refer to...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA investigators seeking answers in small Tennessee town

CELINA, Tenn. -- DEA investigators this week conducted inspections at several pharmacy locations in the Clay County, Tennessee town of Celina, following an inquiry into irregular patterns of pill purchases from drug distribution companies. DEA is now investigating possible criminal activity involving the illicit diversion of controlled prescription pharmaceuticals at...
PRESS RELEASE

Justice Department, DEA propose significant opioid manufacturing reduction in 2019

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration have proposed a reduction for controlled substances that may be manufactured in the U.S. next year. Consistent with President Trump’s “Safe Prescribing Plan” that seeks to “cut nationwide opioid prescription fills by one-third within three years,” the proposal decreases...
PRESS RELEASE

Department of Justice announces regulatory steps to address opioid epidemic

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice today announced the finalization of an April proposal to improve the Drug Enforcement Administration’s ability to control the diversion of dangerous drugs in the midst of the national opioid crisis. Announced in April by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the final rule sent for publication...
PRESS RELEASE

Senior Sinaloa Cartel leader extradited to the United States

WASHINGTON –Mexican authorities today extradited Sinaloa Cartel leader Damaso Lopez Nuñez, also known as “El Licenciado,” to the United States to face drug trafficking charges filed in the Eastern District of Virginia. Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger...
PRESS RELEASE

Attorney General Jeff Sessions Announces Uttam Dhillon as New Acting Administrator Of Drug Enforcement Administration

WASHINGTON – Today, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the appointment of Uttam Dhillon as Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Dhillon will replace Robert Patterson, who has retired after 30 years of service. "With one American dying of a drug overdose every nine minutes, there can be no doubt...
PRESS RELEASE

National Health Care Fraud Takedown Results in Charges against 601 Individuals Responsible for over $2 Billion in Fraud Losses

WASHINGTON – Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex M. Azar III, announced today the largest ever health care fraud enforcement action involving 601 charged defendants across 58 federal districts, including 165 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation...