DEA Archived Press Releases

Press Releases before January 20, 2025
2105 Results - Showing 1971 to 1980
PRESS RELEASE

National awards honors U.S. Attorney’s Office, other agencies for dismantling major Ddrug Ttraffickers

SAVANNAH, Ga. - A multi-agency operation in the Southern District of Georgia is receiving national recognition for dismantling a major drug trafficking organization whose methods included delivering contraband to prisons with drones and using funding from a lottery winner. The Southern District’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force received the...
PRESS RELEASE

Savannah residents plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin

SAVANNAH, Ga: Two people are facing substantial prison sentences and fines after pleading guilty to federal heroin trafficking charges. Gary Johnson , a/k/a “G,” 44, and Jamison Lanier , a/k/a “Monica Lewinsky,” 36, both of Savannah, have each pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and Conspiracy...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA Task Force investigation dismantles Waterbury drug ring; 29 charged

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Brian D. Boyle, special agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s New England Division; John H. Durham, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut; Waterbury Police Chief Fernando C. Spagnolo and Naugatuck Police Chief Sean Hunt today announced that 29 individuals have been...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA testifies at Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing

BISMARCK, N.D. – DEA Omaha Division Special Agent in Charge Richard Salter, Jr., testified at the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Oversight Hearing at the United Tribal Technical College gymnasium in Bismarck, N.D., March 20. One of three federal representatives called to testify at the four-hour hearing, Salter discussed DEA’s...
PRESS RELEASE

Madison area gas station owner and retailer sentenced to 30 months in prison and fined $1 million

MADISON, Wis. – Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Farooq Shahzad, 50, Madison, Wis., was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 30 months in federal prison and fined $1,000,000 for conspiring to distribute synthetic cannabinoids and possessing...
PRESS RELEASE

Ringleader of Central Valley drug trafficking organization sentenced to 20 years prison

SAN FRANCISCO – Carlos Olivares Hernandez was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for his involvement in a methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking conspiracy, announced United States Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Chris Nielsen and U.S. Attorney David L. Anderson. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable...
PRESS RELEASE

Dozens arrested in major law enforcement operation

HOUSTON – A total of 47 people are now in custody following the return of a 43-count indictment alleging drug-trafficking and related crimes in the Houston and Galveston areas. The case will be prosecuted in the Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas. DEA Houston Division Special Agent in...
PRESS RELEASE

Opioid prosecutors continue to be focus of Southern District task force

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Three people, including two medical professionals, are among defendants recently prosecuted in federal court as part of continued efforts to crack down on opioid abuse. Lisa Marie Douthit, 42, a pharmacy technician at a Walgreen’s in Bryan County, was sentenced to three months in prison by U.S...
PRESS RELEASE

Doctor charged for prescribing narcotics to non-patients and ordered detained until trial

SAVANNAH, Ga. – A physician with clinics in Pooler, Ga., and Braselton, Ga., has been indicted for illegally prescribing drugs to non-patients and ordered held in custody pending trial in federal court. Dr. Johnny Di Blasi , 46, of Braselton, Ga., is named in a nine-count indictment for conspiracy to...
PRESS RELEASE

Affiliates of notorious white supremacist street gang plead guilty to federal charges

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Sixteen of the defendants indicted on drug trafficking and firearms charges as part of Operation Vanilla Gorilla have pled guilty in federal court, including the lead defendant in the gang. Operation Vanilla Gorilla targeted the notorious Ghost Face Gangsters, a violent criminal street gang largely operated from...