CENTENNIAL, CO – The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Rocky Mountain Field Division (RMFD) surged into 2026 with Phase II of Operation Fentanyl Free America – part of a nationwide effort that dealt a significant blow to drug trafficking networks. Between January 12 and February 10, 2026, the RMFD in CO, UT...

PHOENIX, Ariz — DEA Special Agent in Charge Apolonio Ruiz Jr. joined Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and HIDTA Director Dawn Mertz to announce the results of a major multi-agency drug operation targeting criminal organizations operating in Arizona communities. “This extraordinary investigation saved countless lives,”...

New York - Today, Takeshi Ebisawa, a Japanese national, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his participation in a conspiracy to traffic nuclear materials, including uranium and weapons-grade plutonium, from Burma to other countries, as well as his participation in international narcotics trafficking, weapons, and money laundering crimes...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Eduardo Valenzuela Lopez, 33, of Cajeme, Sonora, Mexico, and Jael Gonzalez Banuelos, 22, of Phoenix, Arizona, were arrested on the morning of Feb. 24, 2026, by members of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for conspiring to distribute fentanyl. Valenzuela Lopez and Gonzalez Banuelos were charged by criminal...

NEW YORK - United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, Assistant Director of the Counterintelligence and Espionage Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Roman Rozhavsky, Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), Terrance C. Cole, Assistant Director in Charge of the New York...

TUCSON, Ariz. – Aaron Leopoldo Aguirre-Gutierrez, 50, of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, was sentenced on Jan. 20, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Raner C. Collins to 48 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Aguirre-Gutierrez previously pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine. Between Feb. 24, 2024, to...

Tucson, Ariz. – Ramon Renteria, 33, of Avondale, Arizona, was sentenced on Jan. 15, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Angela M. Martinez to 64 months in federal prison followed by four years of supervised release, with community restitution and a fine totaling $7,000. Renteria previously pleaded guilty to Possession with...

DENVER – The DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division (RMFD) shattered records for fentanyl pill and methamphetamine seizures in 2025. Last year, approximately 8,729,000 fentanyl pills were seized in the RMFD – comprised of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana – along with approximately 1,400 kilograms (nearly 3,100 lbs.) of methamphetamine. “These...

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Jabree Jones, a.k.a. “Breezy,” age 33, of Schenectady, New York, was sentenced on January 9, 2026, to 300 months in prison for drug trafficking and firearms crimes, including a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine, and possessing firearms in...

Queens, N.Y. - Three men were charged with participating in a narcotics trafficking operation following an investigation that ran for several months and resulted in the seizure of three illegal pill pressing machines and over four kilograms (10 pounds) of fentanyl in powder and pill form from a residence in...