OAKLAND – Maxfer Palma was sentenced Friday to 192 months in federal prison for one count each of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine on premises where children were present or resided, and possession of a firearm in...

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Missouri woman’s crimes to get illegal access to prescription narcotics resulted in the loss of her nursing license and gained her a lifetime ban from working at any hospital that receives federal funding. According to court documents, Brooke Haller, 41, of Kansas City, Missouri, pleaded...

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – The last of 15 defendants was sentenced to prison after a Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) investigation dismantled a Kansas City metro-based drug trafficking ring linked to Mexico. In December 2019, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) launched an investigation into a...

SAN FRANCISCO – On June 24, 2026, Javier Velasquez Antunes was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison for dealing methamphetamine while illegally possessing a loaded handgun and shotgun. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria handed down the sentence. Antunes, 50, a national of Mexico, was indicted by a federal grand...

San Francisco – United States Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) Administrator Terrance Cole, DEA San Francisco Division Special Agent in Charge Bob Beris, DEA Northeast Associate Chief of Operations Frank Tarentino, DEA New York Enforcement Division Special Agent in Charge Farhana Islam, along with our law enforcement partners Homeland Security Investigations...

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Cristian M. Stevens on Tuesday sentenced a man who was involved in a drug conspiracy that caused one fatal and one nonfatal overdose to 200 months in prison. Haeder Jameel, 23, was also ordered to pay $51,005 in restitution to the parents of the...

CAPE GIRARDEAU – An Alabama man has admitted involvement in the burglary of a Kennett, Missouri pharmacy last year and the theft of 16,800 pills, U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Albus announced Monday. Cornelius Cardez Bray, 31, of Birmingham, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of intent to steal a controlled...

ST. LOUIS– Steven L. Hofer was appointed Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) St. Louis Field Division, marking a return to the Division in which he began his 22-year career with the agency. SAC Hofer will oversee operations across 10 DEA offices in Kansas...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A North Kansas City, Mo., man has been charged by criminal complaint for distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine, possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of firearms by a felon. Danny D. Garrett, Jr., 46, appeared...

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Kansas man was sentenced to 167 months in prison for his role in a transnational drug trafficking organization with ties to a Mexican cartel. The sentence follows a Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) investigation which has so far led to convictions of approximately a dozen...