WASHINGTON, DC – The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 24th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 22, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event offers anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide. For more than a decade, Take Back...

WASHINGTON – Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration released the final report of the Foreign Operations Review Team, which contains recommendations to improve the effectiveness and enhance the integrity of DEA’s foreign operations. In August 2021, DEA requested this comprehensive review, which was led by Jack Lawn, a former DEA Administrator...

TAMPA, Fla. – U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday sentenced Terrel Lewis (26, Largo) to 3 years and 10 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Lewis had pleaded guilty on December 21, 2022. According to court documents, in 2021 the Clearwater Police Department (CPD) and...

TAMPA , Fla. –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced the arrest of Perry Ivory Wims (37, Tampa) on a criminal complaint charging possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Wims was arrested on March 9, 2023 and ordered detained pending the outcome of his case. According to the...

ORLANDO, Fla . – U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton Jr. sentenced Carlos Roman (57, Orlando) to 40 years in federal prison for possession of cocaine and possession of a firearm equipped with a silencer in furtherance of drug trafficking. Judge Dalton also sentenced three individuals who conspired with Roman...

ORLANDO, Fla . – U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. sentenced James Mirabal (46, St. Cloud) to 15 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine. The court also ordered Mirabal to forfeit $124,598, traceable proceeds of the offense. Mirabal had pleaded guilty on December 27, 2022. Mirabal’s...

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Dr. George Barrio, a pain management physician who formerly practiced medicine at the NeuroMedical Institute in Panama City, agreed to pay $225,000 to resolve allegations that he unlawfully prescribed opioids and other controlled substances to patients. The settlement was announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney...

FORT MYERS, Fla. – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has sentenced Robert Steven Harrelson (45, Arcadia) to 21 years and 10 months in federal prison for possessing with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. The court also ordered Harrelson to forfeit a firearm and ammunition...

PENSACOLA, Fla. – A federal judge sentenced the seventh defendant in a large-scale methamphetamine and oxycodone trafficking organization operating primarily in Bay County. The convictions and sentences were announced by Jason R. Coody United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida. “Our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners...

TAMPA, Fla. – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced the unsealing of an indictment charging Marcus Jamar Fowler (32, Tarpon Springs) a/k/a “Drastic,” and Abelardo Torres (36, Tampa) with conspiracy to distribute narcotics and possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance. Pierre Marquise Fowler (34, Port Richey)...