CLEVELAND - Twenty-two people were indicted in federal court for their roles in a conspiracy to traffic fentanyl, heroin, fentanyl analogues including carfentanil, and other drugs, which they sold in Euclid and Cleveland to customers from across Northeast Ohio. Named in the 42-count indictment are: Joseph P. Gray, Jr., 30...

DETROIT – In an effort to mitigate vulnerabilities within the commerce stream that threaten the nation’s consumers and to protect national security, Homeland Security officials recently launched its Global Trade Task Force, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations-led multi-agency effort that leverages robust import and export controls...

CINCINNATI – A defendant was sentenced today in the first federally indicted carfentanil prosecution in the country. Phillip Watkins, 34, of Cincinnati, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 300 months in prison for conspiring to distribute heroin laced with carfentanil and attempting to murder a witness he believed...

DAYTON, Ohio – The lead defendant in a Southwestern Ohio methamphetamine conspiracy pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court last Friday. Salvador Ramirez (also known as Listo), 24, of West Chester is the final defendant to plead in this case. Timothy J. Plancon, Special Agent in Charge, United States Drug Enforcement...

DETROIT – Two men from California were sentenced this month for their role in a drug conspiracy that resulted in, what was at the time, the third largest fentanyl seizure in the United States, announced United States Attorney Matthew Schneider. Schneider was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in...

WASHINGTON – The Drug Enforcement Administration today announced the launch of an enhanced system to help more than 1,500 registered drug manufacturers and distributors nationwide more effectively identify potential illicit drug diversion and combat the opioid epidemic. On Oct. 24, 2018, President Trump signed into law the “Substance Use–Disorder Prevention...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – David L. Dobbins, 39, of Urbancrest, Ohio, was sentenced in United States District Court to 240 months in prison for dealing narcotics that resulted in an overdose death. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. Plancon, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – DEA Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon today unveiled the Drug Enforcement Administration’s 5,500 square foot Drugs: Costs and Consequences travelling exhibit in Albuquerque with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, where it will be housed for the next several months. The...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – United States Attorney Andrew Birge announced today that Alex Alberto Castro received 42 years in prison for conspiring to distribute heroin and cocaine. A federal jury convicted Castro in October 2018. He was the lead defendant of a 20-plus defendant drug trial. Chief United States District...

NEW YORK - Christopher Tersigni, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration Special Operations Division and Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today the extradition of Haji Abdul Satar Abdul Manaf, aka “Haji Abdul Sattar Barakzai,” for...