SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) offices in South Dakota reported a 43% increase in fentanyl powder seizures and 41% decrease in counterfeit pill seizures in 2025 falling in line with a nationwide trend. Across the United States, the DEA has noticed a shift away from pill production...

DENVER – The DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division (RMFD) shattered records for fentanyl pill and methamphetamine seizures in 2025. Last year, approximately 8,729,000 fentanyl pills were seized in the RMFD – comprised of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana – along with approximately 1,400 kilograms (nearly 3,100 lbs.) of methamphetamine. “These...

SEATTLE – Two long-term investigations in the Western District of Washington wrapped up in October 2025 with multiple arrests and significant seizures of narcotics and firearms, announced U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. This afternoon, Jose Isabel Sandoval Zuniga, 30, of Sammamish, Washington who served as a primary source of firearms...

Note: View the Indictment ALBUQUERQUE – An Albuquerque man has been indicted on federal charges following a DEA investigation that uncovered a large-scale narcotics trafficking operation in Albuquerque. According to court documents, on August 13, 2025, DEA agents conducted an undercover operation in Albuquerque in which Jose Magana Garcia, a...

PORTLAND, Ore.— Luis Antonio Beltran Arredondo, 35, a Mexican National residing in Las Vegas, was sentenced today to 135 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release for conspiring to distribute fentanyl and heroin in Oregon, and for conspiring to launder drug proceeds through a Tualatin Beauty Salon...

SEATTLE – A 22-year-old native of Sinaloa, Mexico was sentence in U.S. District Court in Seattle to three years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, for operating a stash house for the drug trafficking organization. Jose Carlos Peraza Alvarez was arrested August 2, 2024, when...

TACOMA, Wash. – A 52-year-old Tukwila, Washington resident was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 120 months in prison. Anthony Escoto was indicted in connection with a two-year investigation of drug trafficking organizations connected to the Aryan Family and Omerta prison gangs. At the sentencing hearing Chief U.S...

FRESNO, Calif. — Salvador Vega Rendon Jr., 33, of Turlock, was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley to 16 years in prison for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant and...

Seattle – Over the last three weeks, federal, state and local law enforcement have been working to dismantle a Sinaloa Cartel-connected drug trafficking ring distributing fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin throughout western Washington, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. The drug traffickers transported narcotics from Mexico, via California, sometimes...

PORTLAND, Oregon—Gildardo Rivera Garcia, 45, a Mexican national unlawfully residing in Salem, Oregon, has been charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin for trafficking more than 43 pounds of illicit drugs in Oregon. According to court documents, on July 27...