OMAHA, Neb. –Seizures of fentanyl and heroin made by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in North Dakota increased in 2020 with investigators seeing a 223 percent increase from 2019 in the two drugs combined.

Fentanyl, estimated at approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin, was seized by DEA for the first time in North Dakota since 2016.  Found primarily in counterfeit pills, but on occasion in powder form, just two milligrams of fentanyl, or the equivalent of a few grains of salt, is considered a lethal dose.

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NEW YORK – Ray Donovan, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration New York Division, Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Dermot Shea, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department, and Acting Superintendent Kevin P.

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TAMPA, Fla. – Jason A. Crowder (42, Zephyrhills) was sentenced to 10 years and 1 month in federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Crowder had pleaded guilty on December 8, 2020.

According to court documents, on January 17, 2020, deputies from the Pasco Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Crowder’s residence and recovered 325 grams of methamphetamine from a safe inside the home.

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MIAMI – Carlton Cash (49, Fort Lauderdale, Florida) was sentenced to ten years in prison for distributing crystal methamphetamine. Cash holds an active Florida medical license.

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MILWAUKEE – Robert J. Bell, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration- Chicago Division and Richard G. Frohling, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced today that on March 18, 2021, Susan Moyer (58) of Milwaukee, the former co-owner and office manager of the “Compassionate Care Clinic” in Milwaukee, was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison for her role in distribution of Oxycodone.

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BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan, New York Division announced today that Elison A. Ledesma-Melo a/k/a Carlos Rivera Perez a/k/a Ostin M. Echevarria-Roman, 46, a native of the Dominican Republic, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. to possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin and 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

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SAN ANTONIO – Twelve San Antonio residents face federal drug trafficking charges, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff.

A federal grand jury indictment unsealed today charges the following defendants with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance:

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SAN ANTONIO – In Del Rio yesterday, a federal judge sentenced Houston resident Michael Dewayne Dennis, aka Michael Spiller, to 18 years in federal prison for leading a conspiracy that distributed over 11,000 kilograms of marijuana throughout the country, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux, Houston Division;  U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff; Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Deputy Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee, San Antonio Division.

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OMAHA, Neb. –The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is reporting a 30 percent increase in fentanyl seizures in Minnesota for 2020, after investigators pulled 6.2 kilograms, or the equivalent of more than three million lethal doses, off the streets. Included in the 6.2 kilograms are more than 55,000 counterfeit pills, many laced with potentially lethal doses of fentanyl.

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