BISMARCK, N.D. – DEA Omaha Division Special Agent in Charge Richard Salter, Jr., testified at the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Oversight Hearing at the United Tribal Technical College gymnasium in Bismarck, N.D., March 20. One of three federal representatives called to testify at the four-hour hearing, Salter discussed DEA’s...

MADISON, Wis. – Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Farooq Shahzad, 50, Madison, Wis., was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 30 months in federal prison and fined $1,000,000 for conspiring to distribute synthetic cannabinoids and possessing...

SAN FRANCISCO – Carlos Olivares Hernandez was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for his involvement in a methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking conspiracy, announced United States Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Chris Nielsen and U.S. Attorney David L. Anderson. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable...

HOUSTON – A total of 47 people are now in custody following the return of a 43-count indictment alleging drug-trafficking and related crimes in the Houston and Galveston areas. The case will be prosecuted in the Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas. DEA Houston Division Special Agent in...

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Three people, including two medical professionals, are among defendants recently prosecuted in federal court as part of continued efforts to crack down on opioid abuse. Lisa Marie Douthit, 42, a pharmacy technician at a Walgreen’s in Bryan County, was sentenced to three months in prison by U.S...

SAVANNAH, Ga. – A physician with clinics in Pooler, Ga., and Braselton, Ga., has been indicted for illegally prescribing drugs to non-patients and ordered held in custody pending trial in federal court. Dr. Johnny Di Blasi , 46, of Braselton, Ga., is named in a nine-count indictment for conspiracy to...

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Sixteen of the defendants indicted on drug trafficking and firearms charges as part of Operation Vanilla Gorilla have pled guilty in federal court, including the lead defendant in the gang. Operation Vanilla Gorilla targeted the notorious Ghost Face Gangsters, a violent criminal street gang largely operated from...

CLEVELAND – On Monday, March 18, and Tuesday, March 19, 2019, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federation of State Medical Boards hosted two regional one-day Practitioner Diversion Awareness Conferences. Drug overdoses are still a public health crisis in the United States and the misuse of prescription opioids continue to...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The United States Drug Enforcement Administration today announced that it will be hosting a regional Practitioner Diversion Awareness Conference (PDAC) on March 27, 2019. The PDAC is designed to educate and assist doctors, veterinarians, dentists, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners across the Commonwealth of Kentucky in identifying...

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Brian D. Boyle, special agent in charge of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration’s New England Division, and John H. Durham, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Dr. Ramil Mansourov, 49, of Darien, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton...