United States Drug Enforcement Administration

Baltimore, MD – Pedro Avalos, age 33, of Sun Valley, California, pleaded guilty today to attempted possession with intent to distribute at least five kilograms of a substance containing cocaine. The guilty plea was announced by Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Washington Division; Jonathan Lenzner, Acting...

NORFOLK, Va. – Today, a Jacksonville, Florida man was the sixth and final defendant to enter a guilty plea for his role in a multi-state anabolic steroid conspiracy that operated in multiple states across the country. According to court documents, law enforcement received information in February 2020 that Erik Eckert...

ST. LOUIS – Darryl Lennell Moore, 32, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, one involving fentanyl, the other involving methamphetamine. Moore also pleaded guilty to an additional count of possession with the intent to...

ST. LOUIS – Gregory Simms, 33, of Las Vegas, Nevada, pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine. Simms appeared today, before U.S. District Court Judge Ronnie L. White. On June 13, 2020, St. Charles County police stopped Simms for driving a vehicle...

WASHINGTON – The Drug Enforcement Administration is warning the public of a widespread fraud scheme in which telephone scammers impersonate DEA agents in an attempt to extort money or steal personal identifiable information. A new public service announcement aims to raise awareness that DEA will never phone demanding money or...

BALTIMORE, Md. – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III sentenced Cephus Albert Powell, age 54, of Baltimore, today to 188 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, after Powell pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and to possession with intent...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Joseph Matney, 40, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, pleaded guilty in federal court on Feb. 4 to armed robbery of a pharmacy, theft of medical products and possession with intent to distribute Oxycodone and Alprazolam. According to his plea agreement, Matney entered and robbed an Albuquerque pharmacy on...

BEAUMONT, Texas - With millions of people waiting for their turn to get the new COVID vaccine, it is expected that scammers will use that opportunity to prey on those willing to pay for it. “Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve seen fraudsters taking advantage of public programs and...

ALBANY, N.Y. - Mario Figueroa-Portalatin, age 41, of Troy, New York, pled guilty today to conspiring to distribute 10 kilograms of heroin. The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith; Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Division; and Rensselaer County...

WASHINGTON – The Drug Enforcement Administration urges its DEA-registered practitioners and members of the public to be cautious of telephone calls by scammers posing as DEA employees attempting to defraud and extort victims. The schemers call the victims, spoofing DEA phone numbers in order to appear legitimate, and threaten arrest...