JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Edrick D. Jackson (28, Lake City) has pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and three counts of distribution of cocaine base (also known as “crack” cocaine). Jackson faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in...

DALLAS - Two drug traffickers who plotted to assassinate a DEA task force office have plead guilty, announced Eduardo A. Chávez, Special Agent in Charge of Dallas Field Division Manuel Gomez-Garcia, 35, and Jorge Humberto Velazco Larios, 29, were indicted in the summer of 2020. Mr. Gomez pleaded guilty to...

TAMPA, Fla. – Marvin “MJ” Mitchell (36, St. Peterburg) pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute heroin, crack cocaine, and fentanyl, and possession with the intent to distribute heroin, crack cocaine, and fentanyl. Mitchell faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each...

MIAMI – On Wednesday, April 27, 2022, a federal district judge in West Palm Beach sentenced a 31-year-old man from Okeechobee County, Florida, to 130 months in prison for drug trafficking. Juan Manuel Nieves previously pled guilty to distribution of five grams or more of methamphetamine. According to the court...

DALLAS, TX – A Panamanian national has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking violations during his federal trial in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Eduardo A. Chávez, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Dallas Field Division. Jorge Albeiro Silva-Salazar, 53, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute five...

BOISE – A Jerome man was sentenced to federal prison for distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. According to court records, Jose Luis Rodriguez-Landeros, 40, a Mexican national living in Jerome, was involved in the distribution of methamphetamine in the Magic Valley. Using a confidential informant, officers purchased...

SPOKANE, Wash. – The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington, recently launched Operation Engage Spokane, which is a comprehensive community-level approach for addressing the drug epidemic – focusing on fentanyl distribution – through prevention strategies, facilitating conversations, and collaboration...

POCATELLO – A Murtaugh man and a Pocatello man pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. Between January 1 and March 24, 2021, Antonio Verduzco-Arreola, 40, of Murtaugh, and Joseph Alexander Huber, 35, of Pocatello, entered into an agreement to distribute controlled substances in the Pocatello area. On...

DALLAS, TX - Twelve alleged drug traffickers were arrested Wednesday in Operation Tormenta De Arena (“Sandstorm”), announced Eduardo A. Chávez, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Dallas Field Division During the bust in Lubbock, Brownfield, and Lamesa, DEA agents and their law enforcement partners also seized roughly 27 pounds...

PORTLAND, Ore.—12 people are facing federal charges for conspiring to distribute counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl in the Pacific Northwest, and laundering millions in drug proceeds. According to court documents, beginning in fall 2021, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents based in Portland began investigating a drug trafficking organization led...