United States Drug Enforcement Administration

DALLAS – A Colombian man was sentenced to nearly three decades in federal prison for drug trafficking violations. Manuel Camilo Renteria Lemus, 37, pleaded guilty on Nov. 16, 2020, to conspiracy to manufacture and distribution of cocaine, knowing it would be imported into the United States. Lemus was sentenced to...

NORFOLK, Va. – A Portsmouth man, who was the 25th defendant associated with Operation High Tide, was sentenced today for his role in trafficking firearms and selling heroin. According to court documents, in 2017, Shon E. Melton, 32, of Portsmouth, was attributed with trafficking 19 firearms, including a concealable short...

Baltimore, Md., – Michael Fisher, a.k.a. Mark Wilson, age 47, of Laurel, Maryland, pleaded guilty on September 24, 2021, to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, and marijuana and distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. The guilty plea was announced by Jarod Forget...

DALLAS - Attorney General Javier Caraballo, of the Republic of Panama, joined DEA Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas Field Division Eduardo A. Chavez; Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei, for the Eastern District of Texas; Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Spradlin of HSI, Dallas Field Office; FBI...

Baltimore, Md., – U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced Jerold Gilliam, age 40, of Baltimore, Maryland to nine years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute a substance containing fentanyl and possession with the intent to distribute a substance containing fentanyl. The...

WASHINGTON—The Drug Enforcement Administration today announced a comprehensive review of DEA’s international operations and foreign footprint, including administrative and financial support for those operations from DEA headquarters. Administrator Anne Milgram has recommended a top to bottom review of foreign operations that will be overseen by an independent team. As part...

HOUSTON – Two alleged members of one of the most serious transnational criminal organizations will make their initial appearances in U.S. federal court on charges of narco-terrorism and distributing kilogram quantities of cocaine from Colombia. This is the first time believed members of the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación...

RICHMOND, Va., – A Guatemalan national was sentenced today to 17 and a half years in prison for his role as a transportation manager in a large-scale Guatemalan drug trafficking organization (DTO). According to court documents, between 2015 and 2016, Edi Barrera-Salguero, 46, conspired to distribute thousands of kilograms or...

BROOKLYN, NY - Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Carlos Gentil Ordonez Martinez was sentenced to 210 months’ imprisonment by United States District Judge Edward R. Korman for conspiracy to internationally distribute cocaine. As part of the sentence, the Court entered a forfeiture money judgment of $10 million. Ordonez...

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., – The ringleader behind an extensive drug trafficking ring was sentenced today to 33 years in prison for distributing large amounts of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine in Newport News and North Carolina. According to court documents, Ramiro Ramirez-Barreto, 44, from the Mexican State of Morelos, operated a...