PHOENIX - In February 2021, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Phoenix Field Division rolled out the Operation Engage initiative in Yavapai County and the team hit the ground running partnering with many local and national agencies to help promote drug prevention awareness. One of those partnerships has been with Community...

LOS ANGELES – A federal judge last week sentenced a former Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Officer to 2 years and 3 months in federal prison for participating in a narcotics-trafficking conspiracy. United States District Judge John A. Kronstadt on Thursday, September 1st sentenced ex-TSA Officer Ronald McCrea, 32, who pleaded...

LOS ANGELES – A Downey man has been arrested on federal charges of selling counterfeit prescription pills containing fentanyl to a 17-year-old Downey female who suffered a fatal overdose from the synthetic opioid, the Justice Department announced today. Jonathan Limas-Reyes, 26, was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon by special agents...

LOS ANGELES – On Sunday, August 21, the Drug Enforcement Administration will recognize National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day by joining the many voices dedicated to educating the public on the serious dangers of fentanyl poisoning from fake pills and other illicit drugs. DEA supports the efforts of several organizations...

PHOENIX - Diego Armando Equihua-Sanchez, 31, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced on August 18th, 2022, by United States District Judge Scott H. Rash to 60 months in prison, followed by 60 months of supervised release. Equihua-Sanchez previously pleaded guilty to Aiding and Abetting Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine. Equihua-Sanchez...

PHOENIX - Special Agent in Charge Cheri Oz and Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced Luis Torres Jaramillo was sentenced to 9.25 years prison on July 13, 2022 for his involvement in a drug trafficking organization. On July 22, 2021, police arrested Jaramillo after observing him conduct a drug transaction...

LOS ANGELES – A Paso Robles man has been arrested on federal charges of selling counterfeit prescription pills containing fentanyl to a 19-year-old Atascadero resident who suffered a fatal overdose from the synthetic opioid, the Justice Department announced today. Timothy Clark Wolfe, 24, was taken into custody Thursday by special...

LOS ANGELES – Two Arizona men face federal charges after the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Los Angeles Field Division’s Enforcement Group 2, in coordination with the Burbank Police Department, seized 100,000 fake oxycodone pills. A criminal complaint filed in federal court alleges that, in the early morning hours of...

LOS ANGELES - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Los Angeles Field Division High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Group 48, seized approximately 1 million fake pills containing fentanyl in Inglewood, Calif. earlier this month. This record-breaking bust is the largest seizure of fentanyl pills DEA has made in California...

TUCSON, Ariz. – Last week, Jamaar Charles Samuels, 39, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Scott H. Rash to 72 months in prison, followed by 36 months of supervised release. Last summer, Judge Rash sentenced Samuels’ co-defendant, Patrick Michael La Fever, 60, also of Tucson, to 97...