Thank you and good morning. Thank you to ONDCP and to all the federal partners with whom we have been working on this important issue. This is a critical moment in our country. DEA’s mission is to keep American communities safe and healthy and we are in the midst of...

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a Public Safety Alert warning Americans of the alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. DEA’s Public Safety Alert, the first in six years, seeks to raise public awareness of a significant nationwide...

WASHINGTON – With the unprecedented worldwide health emergency brought on by COVID-19, last year was filled with new challenges and increased risks. While much of the world focused on combating the pandemic, DEA continued to implement initiatives to combat violent drug traffickers who were intent on flooding cities and rural...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A federal judge today sentenced a Springville couple involved in a St. Clair County pill mill scheme, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge of the New Orleans Division Brad L. Byerley, U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, and IRS-Criminal Investigations Atlanta Field Office Special Agent in...

LOS ANGELES – As the greater Los Angeles area continues to be hamstrung by an opioid epidemic that has seen approximately 500 overdose deaths this year, the DEA in Los Angeles has announced a new comprehensive opioid strategy. At a press conference on Dec. 18, 2018, the DEA in Los...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Drug Enforcement Administration, in conjunction with federal and state prosecutors, announced today an unprecedented enforcement action spanning across the state of Arkansas in a combined effort to reverse the horrible effects on communities produced by violent drug traffickers. As part of this effort, dubbed Operation...

HOUSTON – A Houston physician and the owner of a pain management clinic were each sentenced to 420 months in prison today for their roles in running a pill mill that provided tens of thousands of unlawful prescriptions for millions of doses of opioids and other controlled substances. Special Agent...

WASHINGTON – The Drug Enforcement Administration today announced action against a dangerous designer synthetic cathinone linked to 151 overdose deaths in the United States between 2015 and 2018. Published in today’s Federal Register, DEA’s action puts N-Ethylpentylone into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule I substances refer to...

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Dr. Gilberto Sanchez, 56, of Montgomery, Alabama, was sentenced to serve 12 years and 1 month in prison for prescribing unnecessary controlled substances to his patients, committing health care fraud, and laundering money, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bret Hamilton and United States...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Department of Justice has reached an agreement with CVS Pharmacy, Inc. to resolve violations of the federal Controlled Substances Act and its implementing regulations at CVS Pharmacy locations throughout the Northern District of Alabama, announced DEA Special Agent in Charge Stephen G. Azzam and U.S. Attorney...