ST. LOUIS – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is intensifying its fight against the deadly threat of synthetic opioids with the launch of Fentanyl Free America, a comprehensive enforcement initiative and public awareness campaign aimed at reducing both the supply and demand for fentanyl. Through intensified enforcement operations and...

WASHINGTON — In a superseding indictment unsealed today, high-ranking members of the Sinaloa Cartel are facing federal charges for their alleged involvement in trafficking hundreds of kilograms of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine into southern Illinois and laundering the proceeds to Mexico. “The Sinaloa Cartel relies on drug trafficking to finance...

SAN DIEGO – Edgar Herrera Pardo, aka Caiman, an admitted violent cartel enforcer who ordered the killing of a Tijuana police officer, was sentenced in federal court today to 28 years in prison for trafficking large quantities of methamphetamine and heroin into the United States. Herrera Pardo was indicted in...

SAN DIEGO – Four indictments were unsealed in federal court charging 16 individuals throughout San Diego County with distributing large quantities of methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin and laundering drug-trafficking proceeds. In a coordinated takedown yesterday, more than 115 federal, state and local law enforcement officials arrested 10 defendants and executed...

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – A district judge sentenced a California man to 19 years in federal prison after he admitted to trafficking fentanyl to the Metro East. Nefer Ojeda-Elenes, 33, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance: fentanyl and one count of distribution of...

ST. LOUIS – A jury in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on Monday found a St. Louis man guilty of a cocaine trafficking charge and charges related to the death of nine people during a nearly six-year period. Evidence and testimony presented at trial showed that Anthony “TT” Jordan...

SAN DIEGO – U.S. District Court Judge Todd Robinson sentenced Lucresia Stone-Rojas of San Diego today to 86 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm on November 12, 2023, and possession with intent to distribute heroin on December 27, 2023. Stone-Rojas previously pleaded guilty in...

SAN DIEGO – Alleged Sinaloa Cartel cell leader Octavio Leal-Hernandez, aka Chapito Leal, who is believed responsible for trafficking large amounts of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and marijuana into the United States from Mexico, appeared in federal court today following his extradition from Mexico yesterday. Leal-Hernandez was indicted by a federal...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Columbia, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for possessing fentanyl that he intended to distribute in Springfield, Mo. Michael E. Hunt, Jr., 43, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 15 years in federal prison without parole. Hunt was found guilty...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Texas County, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and for illegally possessing firearms. Richard D. Sims, 63, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Sims to forfeit to...