DALLAS, Ga . – On June 26, 2019, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested Jorge Menera, Daniel Duarte Landa, and Dominguez Marcio Vazquez on charges of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Additional charges are pending. On June 26, 2019, at approximately 9:15 a.m., the GBI Haralson Paulding Drug Task...

SAVANNAH, Ga. – A physician with clinics in Pooler, Ga., and Braselton, Ga., was sentenced to nearly three years in federal prison for illegally prescribing drugs to non-patients. Dr. Johnny Di Blasi , 46, of Braselton, Ga., was sentenced to 33 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Chief U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney sentenced today David Flores, 35, of Dallas, Texas, to 121 months in prison and five years of supervised release on drug conspiracy charges, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Andrew Murray. DEA Atlanta Division Special Agent...

ATLANTA – Dr. Arnita Avery-Kelly, a licensed podiatrist, has been found guilty on federal charges of illegally prescribing opioid painkillers and other drugs at clinic locations purporting to provide podiatric care in Sandy Springs and Lithonia, Ga. “While in the midst of this country’s prescription opioid crisis, removing and ultimately...

ATLANTA – Yadira Gomez-Gonzalez has been sentenced for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Gomez-Gonzalez is the last of three defendants whose drug ring was infiltrated by undercover DEA agents when they attempted to send nearly 14 kilograms of 100 percent pure methamphetamine from California to Georgia...

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Five men and a woman have been indicted in federal court, charged with operating a wide-ranging drug conspiracy that included mass production of pills and possession with intent to distribute a powerful synthetic opioid. As outlined in the six-count indictment in U.S. District Court and from testimony...

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Renewed action to scrutinize shipments into the growing Port of Savannah have led to significant recent drug seizures, including two arrests and more than 20 kilos of cocaine seized in a weekend raid at an Augusta warehouse. Jimmy Alexander Pujols, 35, and Fausto Mendez Ramos, 40, are...

SAVANNAH, Ga. The lead defendant in a Statesboro drug trafficking conspiracy has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. Natividad Dias , a/k/a “Nat,” “Nate,” “Amigo” or “Huevos,” 46, a Mexican national who lived in Sylvania, Ga., was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison by Chief U.S. District...

ATLANTA - Carlos Montemayor, the head of the U.S. arm of the cocaine transportation and distribution network of Edgar Valdez-Villareal, a/k/a La Barbie, has been sentenced to federal prison on charges of cocaine trafficking and money laundering. Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the United States Drug...

ATLANTA – Georgians participating in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s 17th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day Initiative held on Saturday, April 27, 2019, turned in 11,114 pounds of unwanted or expired medications for safe and proper disposal at sites set up throughout the state. The amount collected was the...