SAN DIEGO – Suspected drug trafficker Rafael Orlando Ramirez Barillas, a Guatemalan national who was extradited to the United States from Guatemala on Thursday, February 10, 2022 to face international cocaine trafficking and maritime smuggling charges in the Southern District of California, appeared in federal court today and was ordered...

SAN DIEGO – Jahvaris Lamoun Springfield was sentenced in federal court today to 300 months in prison for selling the fentanyl pills that resulted in the fatal overdose of U.S. Army veteran Brendan James Gallagher on February 5, 2019. This is the longest sentence to date in this district for...

SAN DIEGO – Brayan Alberto Rodriguez-Alcala, an alleged Sinaloa Cartel drug trafficker, was extradited to the United States from Ecuador today. On October 19, 2021, a federal grand jury sitting in the Southern District of California returned an indictment charging Rodriguez-Alcala with participating in a long-running worldwide conspiracy to traffic...

WASHINGTON – The Drug Enforcement Administration announced a new initiative, Operation Overdrive, aimed at combatting the rising rates of drug-related violent crime and overdose deaths plaguing American communities. Last fall, DEA initiated a data-driven approach using national crime statistics and CDC data to identify hot spots of drug-related violence and...

SAN DIEGO – San Diego’s Balboa Pharmacy has paid $105,000 to resolve allegations that it illegally dispensed opioids and other dangerous drugs to its patients, according to a settlement agreement signed by Balboa Pharmacy and the United States. The settlement stems from the United States’ continued efforts to combat the...

SAN DIEGO - Kaylar Junior Tawan Beltranlap of San Diego appeared in federal court today in connection with a grand jury indictment charging him with selling the fentanyl that resulted in the death of a 15-year-old Coronado High School sophomore on May 12, 2021. Agents and Task Force officers with...

Washington, D.C. - As U.S. overdose deaths reach a devastating new height, claiming a new victim every five minutes, the Drug Enforcement Administration has revealed a direct link between fentanyl-related overdose deaths and criminal drug networks in Mexico. These groups are harnessing social media platforms to bring drugs laced with...

WASHINGTON – "Today’s designation of Chuen Fat Yip under the U.S. Department of State’s Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program marks the culmination of several years of law enforcement and prosecution efforts against one of the most prolific alleged distributors of illicit and dangerous drugs and precursor chemicals operating in China...

EL CAJON, Calif. -- On December 2, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Narcotic Task Force and El Cajon Police Department executed a state search warrant at a warehouse located at 1478 Fayette Street in El Cajon. Investigators uncovered an active and sophisticated hexane hash oil extraction laboratory operation. Additional DEA personnel...

Washington, D.C. - Today the U.S. Department of State announced a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Juan Carlos Valencia González, an alleged senior leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). CJNG is one of Mexico’s most violent and prolific...