United States Drug Enforcement Administration

RALEIGH, N.C. – A former Fuquay-Varina nurse was sentenced today to 48 months in prison and three years of supervised release for tampering with painkillers intended for surgery patients. On March 9, 2022, Melissa Elizabeth Chacona pled guilty to the charges. “Surgical patients trust healthcare providers to give them the...

DALLAS, TX – A Dallas man has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for drug trafficking violations related to a 2021 overdose death, announced Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez today. Robel Habtemariam, 20, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to manufacture and deliver fentanyl and was...

DALLAS, TX - A fentanyl trafficker tied to the rash of juvenile overdoses in Carrollton and Flower Mound pleaded guilty today to a drug crime, announced DEA Dallas Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez Magaly Mejia Cano, 29, was charged via criminal complaint in February. On Tuesday she pleaded...

FRESNO, Calif. — Juan Medina, 29, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to distribute heroin, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Brian M. Clark announced. According to court documents, in July 2015, Medina, a truck driver acting at the direction of a...

EL PASO, Texas – A Dallas woman pleaded guilty in a federal court in El Paso Wednesday to charges in connection to her role as a stash house operator and coordinator of a human smuggling organization operating in far west Texas. According to court documents, Elizabeth Miranda Lozano, 39, joined...

FRESNO, Calif. — Sawtantra Chopra, 76, of Modesto, pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of illegally prescribing opioids and other medication, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Brian M. Clark announced. According to court documents, Chopra admitted prescribing drugs — including hydrocodone, alprazolam...

WASHINGTON – DEA is proud to join “Song for Charlie” and many of our valued law enforcement, public health, and non-profit partners in recognizing National Fentanyl Awareness Day. Tomorrow represents an important opportunity to remember the victims of fentanyl poisoning and educate people in our communities about the deadly threat...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – A registered nurse on Thursday admitted illegally obtaining and using fentanyl from the hospital where she worked. Lindsey M. Francis, now 35, was a nurse at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau at the time of the crime. On Jan. 15, 2022, a colleague discovered...

INDIANAPOLIS - Michael Gannon, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Indianapolis, and U.S. Attorney Zachary Myers for the Southern District of Indiana announced that Sierra Goode, 33, and Cody Stonehouse, 32, both of Indianapolis, have been sentenced to 70 and 63 months in federal prison respectively after...

TACOMA, Wash. – A Snohomish, Washington, man who was rearrested following his sentencing in a drug trafficking scheme, has now pleaded guilty to new charges, including attempting to hire a hitman to kill a witness in his case, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Michael John Scott, 44, was sentenced in...