Washington DC – The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will host its 24th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 22nd, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event offers anonymous disposal of unneeded/ expired medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide. In partnership with local law...

YAKIMA, Wash. – Chief United States District Judge Stanley A. Bastian sentenced Jonathan Rivera-Venegas, age 21, of Ellensburg, Washington, to 132 months in federal prison after Rivera-Venegas had pleaded guilty on December 7, 2022 to Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl. Rivera-Venegas will also serve five years of supervised release after his...

NEWARK, N.J. – Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Daniel J. Kafafian and U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger announced a Passaic County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 150 months in prison for distributing fentanyl that...

Louisville, Ky. – The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the State of West Virginia are hosting a discussion on Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) in Charleston, West Virginia on Saturday, April 15, 2023 from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The event will take place at the University of Charleston’s...

DENVER — The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced that People’s Pharmacy, Inc. and its owner and pharmacist-in-charge, Mahnaz Abharian, have agreed to resolve allegations that the pharmacy unlawfully dispensed controlled substances, including dangerous opioids and drug combinations. People’s Pharmacy operated a pharmacy located in Lakewood...

INDIANAPOLIS - A joint investigation by Drug Enforcement Administration-Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) has led to the arrest of Zennon Gaines, a pharmacy technician from Indianapolis, who has been charged with multiple violations, including felony dealing and possession of a controlled substance by fraud/forgery. The joint investigation...

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Dr. George Barrio, a pain management physician who formerly practiced medicine at the NeuroMedical Institute in Panama City, agreed to pay $225,000 to resolve allegations that he unlawfully prescribed opioids and other controlled substances to patients. The settlement was announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney...

Baltimore, MD – U.S. District Judge Julie R. Rubin sentenced NFL gang leader Gregory Butler, a/k/a “Gotti,” “Sags,” and “Little Dick,” age 31, of Baltimore, Maryland, yesterday to 30 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise related to...

Bozeman, Mont. – Rocky Mountain Division Diversion Investigator (DI) Aaron St. Peter was recently named “Outstanding Citizen of the Year” at the Montana Narcotic’s Officers Association (MNOA) Conference in Bozeman. DI St. Peter was nominated by a colleague from the Montana Department of Justice, Criminal Investigation Division (MT CID). The...

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Ryan A. Bloom, 37, of Jamestown, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in...