WASHINGTON – During the unprecedented health emergency caused by the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the health and safety of our communities is DEA’s top priority. DEA is responding appropriately to ensure Americans continue to have access to necessary medications and controlled substances. DEA’s efforts include supporting prescribing practices that limit...

WASHINGTON – Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Justice announced action to further expand opportunities for scientific and medical research on marijuana in the United States. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking provides details on the proposed process and was filed for public inspection today, March 20. The...

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind– Indianapolis District Office Assistant Special Agent in Charge J. Michael Gannon and United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler announced today, federal criminal charges against 35 individuals for their role in two separate drug trafficking rings. “These methamphetamine trafficking organizations were fueling some of the violence that the citizens...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced Eugene “Bo” Mashburn, 58, of Hayesville, N.C. today to 135 months in prison, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Judge Reidinger also ordered Mashburn to serve five years under court supervision upon completion of his...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A federal grand jury sitting in Charlotte has returned an indictment against Anthony Blane Byrnes, 19, of Huntersville, N.C., charging him with drug conspiracy and related drug charges for trafficking narcotics he purchased on the dark web, with coordination through Bitcoin ATMs, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney...

RED LAKE, Minn. – Agents with the DEA Omaha Division spent two days talking with approximately 300 middle school students on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota about the dangers of drugs, the science behind drug abuse and ways to avoid allowing drugs an opportunity to steal their futures...

NEW YORK – U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration New York Division Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan, Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Darcel D. Clark, District Attorney for Bronx County, Dermot Shea, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department, Peter C...

SEATTLE – A Bothell, Washington, man is charged in an eight-count complaint for operating an illegal money exchange business involving bitcoin. Kenneth Warren Rhule, 26, made his initial appearance on the criminal complaint in U.S. District Court in Seattle on March 10, 2020. Rhule is charged with conducting an unlicensed...

PORTLAND, Ore.—The leader of a Salem-area drug distribution network was sentenced on March 11, 2020, to federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine in and around Salem, Oregon. Isaias Alvarado, 38, a Mexican citizen residing in Salem, was sentenced to 120 months in federal...

MIAMI – Pedro Nel Rincon-Castillo, 53, a Colombian national and the leader of the “Clan Rincon,” was sentenced yesterday to 235 month in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. The leader’s brother, Omar Rincon-Castillo, 50, and also a Colombian national, was also sentenced to 210 months in prison...