On Oct. 28, 2023, the community once again emptied their medicine cabinets to help dispose of old, unwanted, and expired medications. Nationwide, DEA and its law enforcement partners collected 599,897 pounds of unneeded medications at 4,675 collection sites nationwide. Locally, the New Orleans Division collected 37,273 pounds between 287 number...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – On Oct. 28, 2023, Arizona residents once again emptied their medicine cabinets to help dispose of old, unwanted, and expired medications. In total, DEA Arizona and its law enforcement partners collected 5,414 pounds of unneeded medications at 80 collection sites statewide. Nationwide, DEA and its law enforcement...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A former Gadsden-area pharmacist and city school board member was sentenced yesterday for drug distribution conspiracy and tax crimes, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. Peeples, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Brad L. Byerley, and...

NEW ORLEANS – The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 25th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 28. The free event offers anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 drop-off locations nationwide. For more than a decade, Take Back...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Hector Manuel Cruz, Jr., 29, of Chandler, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge G. Murray Snow to 15 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. On April 25, 2023, Cruz pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. Co-defendant Konstantin...

TUCSON, Ariz. – Oswaldo Lopez-Escobar, of Mexico, was charged by complaint on October 5, 2023, for Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine. The complaint alleges that, on October 4, 2023, Lopez-Escobar, driving a semi-truck, applied for admission into the United States from Mexico at the Mariposa Port of Entry in...

NEW ORLEANS -- Residents of Greater New Orleans can now apply for the DEA's 2023 Citizens Academy. The DEA Citizens Academy gives engaged citizens an in-depth look at the DEA mission through a series of weekly classes over a four-week period. During this time, DEA insiders hope to enhance participant...

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - A Farmington man was sentenced Friday to 456 months (38 years) in federal prison without the possibility of parole, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $10,000 in fines on one count of Distribution of a Mixture or Substance that Contained Fentanyl Resulting...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Rudy Vasquez Cervantes, 20, of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, was indicted last week by a federal grand jury in Phoenix on one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. The indictment alleges that, on June 30, 2023, Cervantes was traveling by vehicle when he was stopped...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Martha Betancourth Angulo, 34, of Torrance, California, was indicted on one count each of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine. The indictment alleges that, on June 29, 2023, Angulo was traveling on Interstate 8 in Yuma County, Arizona, when she...