BOISE, Idaho – On Friday, July 1, 2022, Dakota James Hoffman, 29, of Bellevue, Idaho, was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison for distribution of fentanyl, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced. According to court records, Hoffman distributed oxycodone pills to a man with the initials A.K. who overdosed on...

SAN DIEGO – Approximately 50,000 fake pills containing fentanyl were seized in a single enforcement operation in San Diego on June 28, 2022. Investigators from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Narcotic Task Force (NTF) and the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) worked together to prevent the fake pills from being distributed...

NEWARK, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson and U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger announced a pharmacist and pharmacy owner pleaded guilty today to violating the Controlled Substances Act by filling fraudulent and counterfeit...

SAN DIEGO – Cole Thomas Salazar pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting that he supplied a fatal dose of fentanyl that resulted in the death of a 24-year-old woman who was found inside her Vista apartment on November 3, 2020. According to his plea agreement, Salazar used an online...

SEATTLE – The Arlington, Washington based leader of a prolific and violent drug trafficking ring pleaded guilty this week to federal drug, gun, and money laundering crimes, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Cesar Valdez-Sanudo, 36, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and carrying...

NEWARK, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson and U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger announced a Morris County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 78 months in prison for his role in a...

SAN DIEGO – A two-year investigation has led to the indictment of 26 defendants for international drug smuggling, drug trafficking, and related conspiracy offenses. One of the defendants, Raul Barajas-Padilla, appeared in federal court yesterday for an initial appearance on the indictment. So far, 17 defendants have been arrested. Efforts...

TACOMA, Wash. – Multiple members of a methamphetamine trafficking ring were indicted last week in U.S. District Court for seven federal felonies related to their drug trafficking, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Some of the conspirators, have been charged in state court over the last ten years, but fled the...

POCATELLO, Idaho – After a four-day trial, a federal jury sitting in Pocatello found Adam Lee Vallely 46, of Pocatello, Idaho, guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, one count of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, and one count of possession with the intent to...

SPOKANE, Wash. – On June 3, 2022, United States District Judge Salvador Mendoza, Jr., sentenced Lorenzo Jimenez Alanis, 47, of Mabton, Washington, to 15 years in federal prison for distributing methamphetamine, along with downloading and possessing a large collection of child pornography. Judge Mendoza also ordered Alanis to serve five...