SAN DIEGO – Today the Drug Enforcement Administration announced a new initiative, Project Wave Breaker, to disrupt the flow of deadly fentanyl into the United States. Project Wave Breaker will direct interdiction, enforcement, and outreach efforts to the San Diego Field Division (SDFD) to disrupt the flow of fentanyl in...

SAN DIEGO – With opioid overdose deaths increasing during the pandemic, the Drug Enforcement Administration is holding its 20th Take Back Day this Saturday, April 24th. DEA has collected over 6,800 tons of prescription drugs over the 10-year span of Take Back Day, and during DEA’s October 2020 Take Back...

WASHINGTON – Yesterday, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) identified Audias Flores Silva (Flores Silva) as a significant foreign narcotics trafficker pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act). Flores Silva (a.k.a. “Jardinero”) is one of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion’s...

SAN DIEGO – Jeffrey Alden Blair was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Battaglia to 188-months in prison for supplying the fentanyl that led to the fatal overdose of 45-year old Derrick Hotchkiss, a long-time rugby player for the San Diego Old Aztecs Rugby Football Club. Through his...

LOS ANGELES – A dual U.S.-Mexican citizen pleaded guilty today to willfully engaging in financial dealings with Mexican companies that had been identified as Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). According to court documents, Jessica Johanna Oseguera Gonzalez, 34...

SAN DIEGO – A federal grand jury today returned an indictment against the Chief Executive Officer and an associate of the Canada-based firm Sky Global on charges that they knowingly and intentionally participated in a criminal enterprise that facilitated the transnational importation and distribution of narcotics through the sale and...

DEA Warning: Scammers Impersonating DEA Agents Are Stealing Identities, Money LOS ANGELES – The Drug Enforcement Administration is warning the public of a widespread fraud scheme in which telephone scammers impersonate DEA agents in an attempt to extort money or steal personal identifiable information. A new public service announcement aims...

Los Angeles – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Mexican national Juan Manuel Abouzaid El Bayeh (“Abouzaid El Bayeh”) as a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act). OFAC designated Abouzaid El Bayeh for his...

LOS ANGELES – DEA Acting Administrator D. Christopher Evans today announced the release of the 2020 National Drug Threat Assessment, DEA’s annual publication outlining the threats posed to the United States by domestic and international drug trafficking and the abuse of illicit drugs. “This year’s report shows the harsh reality...

SAN DIEGO – With opioid overdose deaths increasing during the pandemic, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced its 20th Take Back Day scheduled for April 24. At its last Take Back Day in October, DEA collected a record-high amount of expired, unused prescription medications, with the public turning in close to...