Les autorités colombiennes et américaines ont saisi près de la côte du Salvador plus de quatre tonnes de cocaïne appartenant à des dissidents des FARC qui n’ont pas accepté l’accord de paix, a indiqué mardi la police.
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December 27, 2021 KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Mexican national was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy that distributed more than 2,600 kilograms of cocaine in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Jesus Salvador Campoy-Estrada, also known as “Chava” and “Chavita,” 27, of Kansas City, Kansas, was sentenced by…
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December 22, 2021 MIAMI – Drug trafficker, Pablo Alexander Reyes-Sanchez, a 33-year-old Mexican national, was sentenced in federal court in Miami to 97 months in prison by Chief United States District Court Cecilia M. Altonaga. Reyes-Sanchez brokered a deal involving the purchase of five kilograms of cocaine for $160,000. Reyes-Sanchez traveled to Miami…
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December 21, 2021 Baltimore, Md., – Larry Gardner, a/k/a “Little Larry,” age 40, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to participating in a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, including heroin. The guilty plea was announced by Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Washington Divison…
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December 21, 2021 WASHINGTON – Three Houston-area pharmacists, a doctor, and a pharmacy technician have been arrested for allegedly running three pharmacies and two clinics as “pill mills;” distributing hydrocodone, oxycodone, and other controlled drugs without a legitimate medical purpose. According to court documents, since January 2018, Chrisco Pharmacy (Chrisco), Keystone Pharmacy (Keystone)…
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December 20, 2021 Baltimore, MD – A federal jury convicted Earl Leroy Griffin, Jr., age 45, of Sunderland, Maryland, late on December 17, 2021, for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The conviction was announced by Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Washington Division; United States Attorney for…
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December 17, 2021 Baltimore, Md., – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell sentenced Jack Anderson IV, age 45, of Tucson, Arizona, to 126 months in federal prison after Anderson entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. The guilty plea and…
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December 17, 2021 SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Two West Plains, Missouri, residents were sentenced in federal court today for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute large amounts of methamphetamine in Howell, Greene, and Texas counties. Shirley J. Hicks, 64, and Shaun M. Ross, 44, both of West Plains, were sentenced in separate hearings…
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December 17, 2021 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 two high-ranking members of the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club were indicted today for assault with a dangerous weapon in aid…
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December 17, 2021 MIAMI – As U.S. overdose deaths reach a devastating new height, claiming a new victim every five minutes, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has revealed a direct link between fentanyl-related overdose deaths and criminal drug networks in Mexico. These groups are harnessing social media platforms to bring drugs laced with…
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In mid-December, the authorities in Arizona intercepted more than 1.5 tons of methamphetamine coming from Mexico, the last in a line of record drug hauls around the world in recent months. Responding to the news, UN synthetic drugs expert Martin Raithelhuber tweeted that the size of meth seizures was “simply amazing”.
The global drugs trade is on fire, having survived the coronavirus pandemic with minimal disruption. Production is increasing in many places, fuelled by instability and economic crises in major drug-producing countries. Traffickers appear to be sending vast shipments, reflected in record-breaking drug seizures.
“There’s a boom in demand, there’s a boom in supply,” said Andrew Cunningham, head of drug markets, crime and supply reduction at the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), “It does look quite apparent.”
Nowhere is this boom more pronounced than in the Golden Triangle, where Laos, Thailand and Myanmar intersect. In October, police grabbed 55 million methamphetamine tablets in Laos, Asia’s largest ever drug bust. Regional drug production and trafficking have intensified following the February coup in Myanmar, which plunged the country into chaos.
The October meth haul was only the tip of the iceberg. Many other large shipments have been reported in recent months. Seizures of methamphetamine have been expanding steadily in the past decade to reach a record high in 2020, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
“There is an expansion of the synthetic drug market,” said Martin Raithelhuber, of UNODC. Meth was becoming “cheaper” while purity remained high, he said. “It really points to a larger amount of the drug being available on the market”.
This boom has been facilitated by innovative chemistry. Drug producers have managed to create their own precursor chemicals for synthetic drugs, bypassing international controls. Last year Laotian authorities seized more than 70 tons of propionyl chloride, which can be used to make fentanyl and meth precursors.
Record hauls
Mexican cartels have reportedly used similar experimentation, and drugs are flooding into the US. In November, almost 9 tons of meth and over 175 kg of fentanyl were seized at the border, the largest amount for either drug in two years. Indeed, the DEA seized a record amount of fentanyl in 2021. Overdose deaths reached new highs from 2020 to 2021.
Mexican cartels have also penetrated the European market. Spanish police recently announced the largest ever methamphetamine bust on record, with over 2.5 tons seized in separate, coordinated raids in various cities. A Mexican cartel was allegedly piping meth into Europe through the port of Barcelona.
These seizures point to large-scale drug production, but they are also indicative of intensified law-enforcement activity, according to Andrew Cunningham. The Spanish meth haul was the result of a lengthy international investigation. Encrypted communication platforms used by traffickers have recently been cracked, leading to big seizures.
The narcotics trade has also been helped along by political instability in major drug-producing countries, such as Myanmar and Afghanistan. The production and trafficking of narcotics tend to flourish in chaotic, conflict-ridden states with rule of law deficits.
“The places where the drug production is booming are places where the state has very little control or they’re facilitating or turning a blind eye to things that are going on in the country,” Cunningham told TRT World.
In war-ravaged Syria manufacture of the amphetamine known as Captagon has skyrocketed with the help of the government. The Assad regime, throttled by sanctions and mired in economic crisis, is relying on drugs to earn hard currency. Associates of the ruling family are allegedly involved in production and trafficking of Captagon, turning Syria into a narcostate.
Captagon seizures have reached eyewatering levels. 2021 saw the largest quantity of tablets seized on record, with 95 million pills intercepted in Malaysia in a single haul in March. In Jordan, almost twice as many Captagon tablets were grabbed in 2021 compared with the previous year. And Saudi Arabia has been severely affected, too.
Captagon has also reached Iraq, where use of synthetic drugs, including methamphetamine, has increased enormously in the past decade. The amount of Captagon and meth seized in 2021 was twenty times larger than in the previous two years combined, according to the Iraqi government.
“The Captagon trade has experienced a notable increase in both supply and number of transit and destination markets,” said Caroline Rose, Senior Analyst and Head of the Power Vacuums program in the Human Security unit at the Newlines Institute and author of an upcoming report on Captagon. “It’s very likely that this trade will continue to expand”.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan has emerged as a major meth producer. The drug can be made cheaply using a local plant, ephedra. Afghan meth now flows in copious quantities to Iran and also to Africa via Pakistan and the Indian Ocean. International maritime forces seized more drugs in the region in 2021 than in the previous four years combined – a new record.
According to recent research, the production of ephedra appears to be increasing in Afghanistan as the country collapses into economic crisis. Satellite imagery reveals “new shops, an extended storage area for dried & milled ephedra, and more inventory than ever before”, writes David Mansfield. The price of both meth and ephedra has fallen.
Afghanistan is also a major producer of opiates, accounting for 85 percent of the global heroin supply. Opium production increased by 8 percent in 2021, the United Nations recently assessed, and may continue to rise as farmers have reported higher levels of cultivation this planting season.
Elsewhere, the cocaine trade is booming. Production increased in Colombia in 2020, and there have been a number of massive seizures at European ports, including over 16 tons at Hamburg in February, almost 11 tons at Antwerp in April and 4 tons at Rotterdam in October. Turkey also saw the largest cocaine haul in its history this year.
What supply chain crisis?
The use of container ships to smuggle cocaine concealed in perishable goods, such as fruit, predated the pandemic, but appears to have increased. Air travel was severely hit by coronavirus restrictions, limiting the ability to send drugs on commercial flights.
Maritime shipping enables smugglers to transport huge quantities of product with relatively limited risk of detection, given the size of the vessels and the time-sensitive nature of food imports, which must be checked promptly by customs officials.
The massive seizures this year also indicate that the cocaine trade has not been significantly disrupted by the covid-related supply-chain crisis. A boom in demand combined with covid problems in Asia have caused shortages of goods and shipping delays as vessels lie moored outside ports, waiting for a berth.
While South America has been affected by the crisis, import volumes from the east coast to Europe have not declined during the pandemic, according to Simon Heaney, a senior manager at maritime consultancy, Drewry. “I haven’t seen any evidence that volumes on this trade have been supressed by the supply chain issues,” Heaney told TRT World.
Food, in which cocaine is often hidden, is less vulnerable to disruption than electrical appliances. “The supply chain is much more complex with electrical goods – more intermediate components / parts that need to be shipped from various locations, increasing the risk of delays / raising costs,” Heaney said.
While the cost of sending freight has generally become more expensive amid the supply-chain crisis, including from South America, traffickers generally conceal their product in licit shipments, meaning they “do not pay for the cost of the shipping container”, according to Andrew Cunningham.
The trafficking of heroin along the Balkan Route through Iran and Turkey to Europe is mostly conducted in vehicles and has not been seriously affected by the shipping crisis, and the same goes for the meth trade in Southeast Asia, much of which happens overland between Lower Mekong countries.
The demand for narcotics might also have increased, Cunningham said. The use of drugs normally consumed in recreational settings, such as MDMA and cocaine, appeared to fall during the initial lockdowns in 2020, but has since bounced back, according to the EMCDDA’s 2021 drug report.
The pandemic forced traffickers to adapt their methods, selling drugs online and adopting novel delivery systems that reduce human contact, such as drones. While some of these adaptations might be temporary, others could transform the drug trade and further empower traffickers going forward.
The social and economic damage caused by Covid-19 could also drive more people into drugs. “Research findings associate inequality, poverty and lack of opportunities for socioeconomic development with increased drug use disorders and increased engagement in drug production and trafficking,” says the 2021 UN World Drug Report.
Narco-traffickers defied Covid-19 and now look set to reach new heights, as the stars are aligning for a further expansion of their trade.
AUTHOR Rupert Stone@RupertStone83
Rupert Stone is an Istanbul-based freelance journalist working on South Asia and the Middle East.
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‘Medellín P-6’. Ese es el nombre de la embarcación en la que las autoridades hallaron en las últimas horas 600 kilos de clorhidrato de cocaína perteneciente al grupo criminal de ‘los Costeños’. El operativo que permitió el decomiso se ejecutó en la ribera del río Magdalena, en el corregimiento de Palermo, Magdalena.
Allí, gracias a información de fuentes humanas, unidades de la Dirección de Investigación Criminal, Dijín, en coordinación con la Armada Nacional, la Agencia Antidrogas de los Estados Unidos, DEA, y la Fiscalía General de la Nación, localizaron en una zona portuaria de dicho corregimiento la embarcación tipo bongo utilizada para el transporte de combustible.
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Mon cher Michel
Mon cher administrateur des douanes
Mon cher responsable des affaires juridiques et contentieuses
Mon cher menteur
Mon cher tartuffe
Relisant tes écrits, j’ai pu constater que tu étais particulièrement performant dans l’art de la rhétorique mensongère.
Le 10 avril 2020, je t’avais écrit une lettre ouverte, mais tes nombreuses occupations ne t’ont pas permis de trouver le temps d’y répondre.
Je te la fais à nouveau parvenir, espérant que cette fois-ci, tu n’auras pas l’attitude d’un de tes prédécesseurs Gérard Schoen qui avait préféré s’enfuir en courant lorsque j’avais cherché à le rencontrer.
J’ai mis quelques photos pour te permettre de reconnaitre tes semblables !
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Ô, mon cher Michel, mon cher administrateur des douanes, mon cher responsable des affaires juridiques et contentieuses, mon cher menteur, mon cher tartuffe, constater une fois encore tes savantes manœuvres pour dégager la responsabilité de l’administration des douanes ne m’ont permis que de faire un constat, accablant pour toi, comme pour tes prédécesseurs Elizabeth Melscoet, Thomas Charvet et le gredin Erwan Guilmin : vous êtes des menteurs institutionnels !
Mon cher Michel, mon cher administrateur des douanes, mon cher responsable des affaires juridiques et contentieuses, mon cher menteur, mon cher tartuffe, sais tu que je ne peux accepter cette infamie savamment distillée par tes écris mensongers. Il m’est insupportable de constater qu’après avoir été encensé puis encouragé à infiltrer et infiltrer encore, tu ne souhaitais que flétrir tant de lauriers amassés. Mes actions qu’avec respect toute la hiérarchie de la DNRED admirait, mes informations précises qui tant de fois ont permis des saisies importantes, tant de fois valorisaient un service… aux actions que tu ne connais même pas ! Tu m’as trahi comme tu as trahi l’honneur de la douane tout entière en deformant sciemment l’action que j’ai menée suite aux volontés ministérielles de Michel Charasse.
Mon cher Michel, mon cher administrateur des douanes, mon cher responsable des affaires juridiques et contentieuses, mon cher menteur, mon cher tartuffe, toi qui occupe un haut rang d’administrateur, comment peux tu l’occuper sans honneur? Tu as préféré emprunter les affabulations de tes prédécesseurs pour m’écarter de toutes réparations. Seras-tu un sprinter comme ce faquin de Gérard Schoen si tu me rencontrais ou préférerais-tu jouer les timides méprisants et dédaigneux, comme le fit Corinne Cleostrate, et t’éloigner sans me regarder ?
Mon cher Michel, mon cher administrateur des douanes, mon cher responsable des affaires juridiques et contentieuses, mon cher menteur, mon cher tartuffe, relire encore que toutes les turpitudes subies ne seraient la résultante que d’une erreur d’appréciation de ma part sur l’engagement de la douane sur lequel j’étais persuadé pouvoir compter, me trouble. En homme d’honneur que je suis, habitué à la parole donnée, il m’était difficile d’imaginer que tant de bassesses pouvait t’habiter.
Mon cher Michel, mon cher administrateur des douanes, mon cher responsable des affaires juridiques et contentieuses, mon cher menteur, mon cher tartuffe, je te croyais honnête et factuel, n’hésitant pas à t’informer avant de m’emballer dans des écrits totalement infondés. Non, tu n’as rien demandé, te permettant alors de tordre le cou à la vérité des faits.
Mon cher Michel, mon cher administrateur des douanes, mon cher responsable des affaires juridiques et contentieuses, mon cher menteur, mon cher tartuffe, merci de transmettre mes meilleures civilités à ton entourage…douanier. »
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December 17, 2021 PHOENIX – As U.S. overdose deaths reach a devastating new height, claiming a new victim every five minutes, the Drug Enforcement Administration has revealed a direct link between fentanyl-related overdose deaths and criminal drug networks in Mexico. These groups are harnessing social media platforms to bring drugs laced with fentanyl…
December 17, 2021 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Shawn Andrew Wilson (47, Fernandina Beach) pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. Wilson faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 5 years, and up to, 40 years in federal prison. According…
December 17, 2021 Seattle- As U.S. overdose deaths reach a devastating new height, claiming a new victim every five minutes, the Drug Enforcement Administration has revealed a direct link between fentanyl-related overdose deaths and criminal drug networks in Mexico. These groups are harnessing social media platforms to bring drugs laced with fentanyl and…
December 17, 2021 FRESNO, Calif. — Genaro Serrato-Calles (“Serrato”), aka “Alejandro,” aka “Meno,” 49, of Michoacán, Mexico, was sentenced Tuesday to 148 months in prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and heroin, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Wade R. Shannon and Acting United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. His sentencing…
December 17, 2021 FRESNO, Calif. — Jesus Adrian Pena-Gamez, 33, a citizen of Mexico, pleaded guilty Tuesday to possessing with the intent to distribute fentanyl, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Wade R. Shannon and Acting United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. Pena-Gamez is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District…
December 17, 2021 SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Christopher Kegan Williams, 26, of Sacramento, was sentenced on Tuesday by United States District Judge John A. Mendez to 2.5 years in prison for distribution of fentanyl, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Wade R. Shannon and Acting United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According…
December 17, 2021 NEWARK, N.J. – As U.S. overdose deaths reach a devastating new height, claiming a new victim every five minutes, the Drug Enforcement Administration has revealed a direct link between fentanyl-related overdose deaths and criminal drug networks in Mexico. These groups are harnessing social media platforms to bring drugs laced with…
December 16, 2021 SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Billings, Missouri, man who belongs to the Aryan Brotherhood pleaded guilty in federal court today to methamphetamine trafficking. Jimmy Jack Pinkley, 44, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. By pleading guilty…
December 16, 2021 CHICAGO – As U.S. overdose deaths reach a devastating new height, claiming a new victim every five minutes, the Drug Enforcement Administration has revealed a direct link between fentanyl-related overdose deaths and criminal drug networks in Mexico. These groups are harnessing social media platforms to bring drugs laced with fentanyl…
December 16, 2021 Washington, D.C. – As U.S. overdose deaths reach a devastating new height, claiming a new victim every five minutes, the Drug Enforcement Administration has revealed a direct link between fentanyl-related overdose deaths and criminal drug networks in Mexico. These groups are harnessing social media platforms to bring drugs laced with…
December 16, 2021 CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. – Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Michael Belfiore, a former medical doctor, was sentenced by United States Circuit Judge Joseph F. Bianco to 23 years in prison for the illegal distribution of oxycodone causing the deaths of two patients and the illegal distribution of…
December 16, 2021 INDIANAPOLIS – Michael J. Gannon, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Indianapolis, and U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers of the Southern District of Indiana announced that an Indianapolis man was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge James R. Sweeney to over 27 years in prison following his…
December 15, 2021 Dallas – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas has filed federal charges against one of the world’s largest alleged anabolic steroid producers, DEA Special Agent in Charge, Eduardo A. Chávez announced today. Chuen Fat Yip, a 68-year-old citizen of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), was…
December 15, 2021 WASHINGTON – « Today’s designation of Chuen Fat Yip under the U.S. Department of State’s Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program marks the culmination of several years of law enforcement and prosecution efforts against one of the most prolific alleged distributors of illicit and dangerous drugs and precursor chemicals operating in China…
December 15, 2021 MADISON, Wis. – John G. McGarry, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Wisconsin, and Timothy M. O’Shea, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Jacob A. Willox, 28, of Wausau, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to…
December 15, 2021 LOS ANGELES— A Los Angeles man was arrested late Monday night on a federal grand jury indictment alleging he provided fentanyl-laced pills to a 15-year-old who died on July 8, 2021 after taking the pills. Johnny Castillo, 18, is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court Tuesday afternoon…
December 14, 2021 NEWARK, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson and Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey announce a Puerto Rican man today admitted conspiring to distribute over 250 kilograms of cocaine. Mariano Enrique Arroyo Perez, aka “Humilde,” 29…
December 14, 2021 NEWARK, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson and Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Rachael A. Honig announced a South Carolina man today admitted conspiring to illegally sell firearms, including five pistols and one rifle, in…
December 14, 2021 FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Alfred A. Cooke, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Merrillville, Indiana, and U.S. Attorney Clifford D. Johnson of the Northern District of Indiana announced that Stephen Jacob Lee Johnson, 49, of Mishawaka, Indiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Holly A. Brady…
December 14, 2021 BOSTON – A New York man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to his role in a drug distribution conspiracy involving heroin, fentanyl and cocaine. Wilkin Cedano, 37, of Brooklyn, N.Y., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 100 grams…
December 13, 2021 NEWARK, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson and Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Rachael A. Honig announced a Hudson County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 86 months in prison for possessing with intent…
December 13, 2021 MILWAUKEE – John G. McGarry, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Wisconsin, and Acting United States Attorney Richard G. Frohling announced that on Dec. 10, 2021, Lisa Hofschulz, 61, formerly a licensed nurse practitioner in the state of Wisconsin, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison…
December 10, 2021 NEWARK, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson and Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Rachael A. Honig announced two Newark men have admitted their roles in a drug trafficking conspiracy based in Newark. Rahim Jackson pleaded…
December 10, 2021 DALLAS – A major Dallas drug trafficker was convicted at trial of dealing methamphetamine out of his car dealership, announced DEA Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez. After four days of trial, a federal jury convicted Marco Antonio Gonzalez, 42, of one count of conspiracy to possess with intent…
December 10, 2021 DALLAS – A heroin trafficker who fled the scene of a controlled delivery has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison, announced DEA Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez Frank Alex Juarez, 22, of Terrell, Texas, pleaded guilty in July to possession with intent to distribute heroin. He…
December 10, 2021 EUGENE, Ore. —A Winston, Oregon man was sentenced to federal prison today for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, which he had been selling in and around Douglas County, Oregon. Steven Dwayne Lander, 60, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release. According to court…
December 10, 2021 BOSTON – A California man was indicted yesterday on a charge of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Cameron Graff, 29, of San Diego, Calif., was indicted on one count of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Graff is currently in…
December 09, 2021 SIOUX FALLS, S.D.–Investigators with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) worked with state, local, tribal and federal law enforcement partners on an enforcement activity in six cities of eastern South Dakota earlier today, arresting 10 people on federal drug charges and four people on state drug charges. Agents located and…
December 09, 2021 OCALA, Fla. – Following eight days of trial in federal court, David Chappell Fey (57, Belleview) and Shari Lynn Gunter (58, Ocklawaha) have each been found guilty as charged for the murder of a government witness. The trial required special accommodations: a separate jury heard evidence for each defendant. In…
December 08, 2021 NEWARK, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson and Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Rachael A. Honig announced a Bergen County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 63 months in prison for distributing and conspiring…
December 08, 2021 SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Nixa, Missouri, physician pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to making a false statement to Medicare to obtain insurance coverage for a fentanyl prescription and to conspiring with others to use his DEA registration number to issue Schedule II controlled substances to patients in his absence…
December 08, 2021 MADISON, Wis. – John G. McGarry, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Wisconsin, and Timothy M. O’Shea, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Marcus Catchings, 43, of Chicago, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to five years in…
December 07, 2021 FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Alfred A. Cooke, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Merrillville, Indiana, and U.S. Attorney Clifford D. Johnson of the Northern District of Indiana announced that Fredrick J. Morgan, Sr., 65 years old, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court…
December 07, 2021 Spokane – Esther Rae Tuller, age 40, of Moses Lake, Washington, has pleaded guilty to tampering with morphine medication while working as a registered nurse. Chief United States District Judge Stanley A. Bastian accepted Tuller’s guilty plea and scheduled a sentencing hearing for March 17, 2022, in Spokane. According to…
December 07, 2021 Tacoma- A 28-year-old citizen of Mexico was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 46 months in prison for his drug-dealing activity in Western Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Omar Arellano-Hernandez had traveled to the Pacific Northwest from Mexico and was staying at a Tukwila hotel when…
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14 décembre 2021
Par Xavier Raufer
Trafic de drogue – Ce mauvais diagnostic posé par la France sur le « tsunami » de cocaïne qui déferle sur l’Europe
La France et l’Union européenne doivent faire face à un vaste trafic transcontinental de
cocaïne livrée par tonnes et qui rapporte des milliards aux trafiquants et aux réseaux.
Expertise collective, complexe appareil de renseignement : un grand État peut-il se tromper de guerre ? Ô combien. Exemple énorme, la « guerre à la drogue » lancée en juin 1971 par Richard Nixon, qui crée en 1973 la DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), outil fédéral spécifique.
Or cette « guerre » ne cible que le plus visible : le cannabis (des hippies ) et l’héroïne (drogue des Noirs et des vétérans-toxicomanes rentrés du Vietnam). La cocaïne ? La Maison blanche et de DEA la négligent, quoique Pablo Escobar & co. lancent alors sur l’Amérique du Nord un tsunami de « chlorhydrate de cocaïne » (nom savant de la drogue) puis de crack (protococaïne à fumer).
Washington corrige la colossale bévue en 1984 : à Miami, un jury fédéral inculpe Pablo Escobar et les chefs d’un cartel de Medellin actif mais impuni depuis dix ans.
Trop tard
Les États-Unis absorbent alors 400 tonnes de « coke » par an, les guerres de gangs (pour contrôler le gâteau) font 15 morts par jour (surtout, Noirs) et les cartels ont créé dans toute l’Amérique du Nord un maillage de distribution des drogues, toujours actif en 2021.
50 ans plus tard, l’Union européenne et la France font-t-elles la même bourde ?
C’est hélas possible car le gouvernement français cible par électoralisme ces petits dealers de cités dont le négoce reste le cannabis.
L’ « omniprésent » (ajouté par Marc Fievet) Gérald Darmanin et ses troupes multiplient ces futiles opérations coup de poing où l’on saisit quelques kilos d’un haschisch fumé, en France, à raison d’une tonne par jour ; et capturent des sous-fifres libérés à l’instant par la justice d’Eric Dupond-Moretti. Ce, quand sévit un colosse criminel, toujours plus riche et puissant.
Démonstration.
D’abord, les données du problème cocaïne pour la France et l’Europe.
Les chiffres ci-après étant tout sauf hyperboliques, plutôt au bas de la fourchette :
• Comparée aux autres stupéfiants, la cocaïne est une machine à fric inégalée. Livrée en gros en France, pure à ± 80%, les grossistes la payent en moyenne ± 32 000 €/kilo (32 millions d’€ la tonne). Puis la cocaïne est coupée (la tonne pure devient 1,5 t.) ; le prix, niveau demi-grossiste, passe à ± 45 000 €/kilo. Enfin, la vente de rue se fait vers 70€ le gramme, 40€ le 1/2 g.
Bien sûr, cette « accumulation primitive du capital » enrichit surtout le haut de la pyramide criminelle, caïds et cadres des gangs.
Exemple : ce caïd achète, pour sa clientèle régionale, 500kg de cocaïne en gros puis la revend à des patrons de « fours » (points de deal ) au prix du kilo coupé. Pour cette seule transaction, il gagne ± 6,5 millions d’euros. Moins ses frais : entretien du gang, logistique, avocats, corruptions diverses, train de vie… Bénéfice net de la seule opération (sans encombres policiers ou douaniers) : 6 millions d’€.
• Combien de cocaïne ainsi livrée en France, à bon port ?
Les experts d’Anvers et Rotterdam, ports d’où la « coke » inonde l’Europe, disent en saisir 10%. La douane française étant performante, accordons-leur le (généreux) taux de saisie de 25%, 1/4 saisi, 3/4 livrés aux narcos. (C’est vraiment très généreux, bien que ce % pourrait être atteint si la CELTICS de la DNRED voyait ses effectifs renforcés et qu’un équipement performant était enfin installé – Marc Fievet).
Donc : 13 tonnes saisies par nos douanes en 2020, ± 40 t. livrées aux semi-grossistes. Là, le profit annuel du haut de la pyramide (de gros à demi-gros) est à ce seul niveau de ± 520 millions d’€. Voyons maintenant les profits cascadant du haut en bas du circuit de vente, du kilo en gros (± 32 000 euros) au 1/2 gramme en boîte de nuit (40 €) : ce profit total du négoce de la cocaïne en France (métropole) approche le milliard et demi d’€. Profit total annuel , soulignons-le, renouvelé chaque douze mois.
• Niveau Union européenne (et ses ± 4 millions de cocaïnomanes) le problème est pire.
D’abord, malgré tout l’activisme de Washington et les serments de régimes locaux corrompus ou/et impuissants, le cône nord de l’Amérique latine produit toujours plus de cocaïne ; le marché N°1 mondial des cartels, de la Colombie au Mexique, étant désormais l’Europe.
• Exemple, le port d’Anvers (Belgique) : 120 km 2 (Paris intra-muros : 105 km 2 ), 64
000 salariés directs (alentours, 80 000 autres vivent du port), 7,5 millions de conteneurs traités en 2020. 66 t. de cocaïne saisies en 2020 (sans doute 100 t. à Anvers, fin 2021). Rappel : en 2010, ± 50 t. de cocaïne étaient saisies pour toute l’Union européenne .
CORRUPTION
Combien de dockers, grutiers, douaniers, employés et fonctionnaires de la fourmilière d’Anvers, prêts à gagner 10 000€ à détourner les yeux ou prêter un badge d’accès ? 100 000€ pour une grosse « extraction » de drogue ? Pire à Rotterdam, inquiétant pour des ports français, Le Havre en tête. Ce, quand une chaîne logistique mondiale toujours plus automatisée et accélérée complique le travail des douanes ; la police étant toujours plus confrontée aux guerres de gangs visant au contrôle d’une telle mine d’or : fusillades, attentats à la bombe, jets de grenades, règlements de comptes, enlèvements, tortures, etc.
Là est le pire danger, pour l’Europe et la France : des caïds riches à milliards (les principaux
opèrent depuis le Maghreb, le Golfe, l’Andalousie, etc.), pouvant corrompre des élus et des fonctionnaires ; stipendier des pirates informatiques pour manipuler les structures portuaires ; infiltrer l’économie légale, l’immobilier etc., pour y recycler et blanchir leurs profits – et acquérir plus de puissance encore.
Tel est le défi lancé à la France et l’Union européenne, par le macro -trafic transcontinental d’une cocaïne livrée par tonnes et rapportant des milliards.
Un second article exposera le problème des micro -trafics en France même : » crack » au nord-est de Paris, guerres de la « coke » dans des ports français.
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December 07, 2021 FRESNO, Calif. — Randal Jason Newell, 41, of Bakersfield, pleaded guilty today to possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Wade R. Shannon and Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert. According to court documents, on Dec. 5, 2020, Newell drove from Bakersfield to…
December 06, 2021 FORT MYERS, Fla. – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell today sentenced Gerald Michael Abraham, 76, of Naples, Florida. to three years in federal prison for dispensing controlled substances (oxycodone and amphetamine) for no legitimate medical purpose. The court also ordered Abraham to forfeit the following items to the United…
December 06, 2021 SAVANNAH, Ga. — A former Garden City, Ga., clinic owner and CEO has admitted to laundering money in connection with a notorious “pill mill” doctor who illegally dispensed massive amounts of controlled substances. Jamesetta Whipple-Duncan, 58, of Savannah, pled guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of money laundering…
December 03, 2021 EL CAJON, Calif. — On December 2, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Narcotic Task Force and El Cajon Police Department executed a state search warrant at a warehouse located at 1478 Fayette Street in El Cajon. Investigators uncovered an active and sophisticated hexane hash oil extraction laboratory operation. Additional DEA personnel…
December 03, 2021 NEWARK, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson and Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Rachael A. Honig announced a nonprofit healthcare system that owns and operates a network of healthcare entities has agreed to pay $150,000…
December 03, 2021 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Michael Gannon, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Indianapolis, and U.S. Attorney Zachary Myers of the Southern District of Indiana today announced that a federal grand jury in Evansville returned indictments charging 30 men and women with several federal crimes, including conspiracy to distribute…
December 02, 2021 BOSTON – Two Malden men were indicted yesterday in connection with trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine disguised as Adderall, Xanax or oxycodone in and around the Malden area. Igor Desouza, 25, and Matthew Ramos, 24, were indicted on one count each of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more…
December 02, 2021 Washington, D.C. – Today the U.S. Department of State announced a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Juan Carlos Valencia González, an alleged senior leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). CJNG is one of Mexico’s most violent and prolific…
December 02, 2021 MADISON, Wis. – John G. McGarry, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Wisconsin, and Timothy M. O’Shea, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Larry Cole, 41, of Painsdale, Michigan, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to…
December 01, 2021 SAN DIEGO – Ernesto Renteria of Chula Vista was sentenced in federal court today to 71 months in custody for distributing more than 100 pounds of deadly fentanyl plus fentanyl analogues, cocaine and methamphetamine. According to his plea agreement, in May 2021, Renteria stored large quantities of the federally controlled…
December 01, 2021 DENVER – Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Denver Field Division, alongside Rocky Mountain HIDTA and the 18th Judicial District, announced the indictment of 19 individuals and arrest of 10 individuals as a part of an investigation into a poly-drug trafficking organization operating in the greater Denver area of Colorado. In…
December 01, 2021 BOISE – A Nampa man was sentenced to 108 months in federal prison for possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. According to court records, Patrick William Collingwood, 39, of Nampa, transported methamphetamine and cash between Mexico and Idaho for a period of approximately four months before his arrest…
November 30, 2021 ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Rosa De Santiago, 48, of Sunland Park, New Mexico, was sentenced in federal court today to 12 years in prison for her part in a drug trafficking and international money laundering conspiracy. De Santiago was one of 22 defendants charged in a 44-count superseding indictment on Aug…
November 30, 2021 Seattle – Three men who were convicted at trial in August 2021, of multiple federal felonies for distributing fentanyl pills in Snohomish, Skagit, and Whatcom Counties, were sentenced to lengthy prison terms, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. The leader of the drug ring, Bradley Woolard, 41, of Arlington, was sentenced…
November 30, 2021 Dallas – The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center has agreed to pay $4.5 million to resolve allegations that its violations of the Controlled Substances Act allowed hospital staff to divert fentanyl and other dangerous drugs from the hospital, announced DEA Dallas Special Agent in Charge, Eduardo A. Chávez. The…
November 29, 2021 BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Michael Liburd, a member of the Coney Island-based street gang known as the West End Enterprise, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Edward R. Korman to 32 years’ imprisonment following his conviction for racketeering conspiracy, including his participation…
November 29, 2021 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis today sentenced Eddie “Macho” Martinez-Marquez (33, Kissimmee) to 10 years and 1 month in federal prison for conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. As part of his sentence, the court…
November 24, 2021 SAN DIEGO – El Cajon resident Olatunde James Temitope Akintonde was sentenced in federal court today to 15 years in prison for selling fentanyl-laced pills that caused the death of a 19-year-old Santee man, identified in court records as S.J.G., in March of 2019. Akintonde previously admitted that he sent…
November 24, 2021 Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, a federal jury in Maryland convicted two El Salvadorian nationals for conspiring to participate in La Mara Salvatrucha, a transnational criminal enterprise, commonly known as MS-13. Junior Noe Alvarado-Requeno, aka Insolente, aka Trankilo, 25, and Miguel Angel Corea Diaz, aka Reaper, 39, were convicted of multiple…
November 24, 2021 PHOENIX – On October 2, 2021, thirteen Yavapai County community members proudly graduated from the Phoenix Field Division’s (PFD) first ever DEA Citizen’s Academy. The community-based training program provided civilians from the local community with a first-hand understanding of the critical mission and work conducted every day by the men…
November 23, 2021 NEW YORK – Keith Kruskall, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New York Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), Thomas Fattorusso, and Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation…
November 23, 2021 NEW YORK – Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Humberto Rodriguez, aka “El Bori,” pled guilty today in Manhattan federal court to the April 18, 2020, murder of Jorge Miguel Cabrera. U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel accepted the defendant’s guilty…
November 23, 2021 BOSTON – A Dominican national was convicted yesterday by a federal jury of distributing fentanyl. Bernardito Carvajal, 30, who most recently resided in Haverhill, was convicted following a five-day jury trial of two counts of distribution of fentanyl. U.S. Senior District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. scheduled sentencing for…
November 23, 2021 SOUTH BEND, Indiana – Alfred Cooke, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Merrillville, Indiana, and U.S. Attorney Clifford D. Johnson of the Northern District of Indiana announced that Jason Cochran, 44, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced to 70 months in prison followed by four years of…
November 23, 2021 MADISON, Wis. – John G. McGarry, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Wisconsin, and Timothy O’Shea, acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Zakaree Stelzer, 25, of Lakeville, Minnesotra, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to five years in federal…
November 23, 2021 SOUTH BEND, Indiana – Alfred Cooke, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Merrillville, Indiana, and U.S. Attorney Clifford D. Johnson of the Nothern District of Indiana announced that Andre Neal, 44, of Zion, Illinois, was sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by two years of supervised…
November 22, 2021 SAN DIEGO – San Diego resident Brandon Jacob Shepherd was sentenced in federal court today to thirteen years and eleven months in prison for selling fentanyl that resulted in the death of an eighteen-year-old San Diego woman, identified in court records as P.E.R., in January of 2020. He received one…
November 22, 2021 TAMPA, Fla. – Karin Hoppmann, Acting United States (U.S.) Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, announced the unsealing of a 2019 indictment charging Piero Antonio Lubo-Barros, a/k/a “Nostradamus,” (41, Colombia, South America) with conspiracy to distribute large amounts of cocaine knowing and intending it to be imported into the…
November 22, 2021 COEUR D’ALENE – Dr. Eric Benson, an internist practicing medicine in Post Falls, Idaho, agreed to pay $110,000 to resolve allegations that he unlawfully prescribed opioids and other controlled substances to patients between 2014-2021. The settlement, which was based in part on Dr. Benson’s ability to pay, also restricts the…
November 19, 2021 SAN DIEGO – Tony Davis was sentenced today in federal court by U.S. District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo to 13 years in prison for supplying the heroin and fentanyl that led to the fatal overdose of a 41-year-old San Diego woman, on October 24, 2018. According to his plea agreement…
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Chargé de mission auprès de Dominique Strauss-Kahn, ministre de l’Économie et des Finances, à qui Fievet avait écrit de sa prison canadienne de Renous, François Auvigne avait envoyé Messieurs Gatard de Marseille et Roux de Washington DC pour convaincre Fievet de Plaider coupable au Canada en faisant préciser que l’on arrangerait sa situation dès son retour en France
François Auvigne, lorsqu’il devint le Directeur général de la Douane française , a démontré une couardise consternante en refusant d’assumer les engagements pris auprès de Marc Fievet par les dirigeants de la DNRED et par les envoyés douaniers venus rencontrer Fievet au Canada sur sa demande,. Ces faits confirment que chez ces gens-là, l’honneur n’existe pas .
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November 19, 2021 MASSACHUSETTS – A Worcester man was sentenced yesterday in connection with a fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine trafficking conspiracy. Robert Young, 50, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to five years in prison and three years of supervised release. In October 2018, Young pleaded guilty…
November 19, 2021 CONNECTICUT – Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ROBERTO MUNIZ, 37, of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, was sentenced today via videoconference by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden to 30 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for trafficking cocaine…
November 19, 2021 BOISE – Luis Leyva Verduzco was sentenced to 82 months in federal prison for possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. According to court records, beginning in early 2020, law enforcement received information that Verduzco, 32, a Mexican national living in Jerome, was involved in the distribution of methamphetamine…
November 18, 2021 FRESNO, Calif. — Uriel Ivan Portillo, 35, of Bakersfield, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Wade R. Shannon and Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to court documents, on Nov. 21, 2019, Portillo distributed 5,000…
November 18, 2021 MADISON, Wisconsin – John G. McGarry, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration – Wisconsin, and Acting U.S. Attorney Timothy M. O’Shea of the Western District of Wisconsin announced that a federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin, sitting in Madison, returned the following indictments…
November 17, 2021 NEW YORK – DEA New York Division Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan and New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the indictment of 54 members of a drug trafficking ring for their roles in distributing heroin laced with fentanyl, powder and crack cocaine, and methamphetamine to Fulton, Montgomery, Saratoga…
November 17, 2021 BOSTON – A New York man was charged yesterday in federal court in Boston in connection with a drug distribution conspiracy involving heroin, fentanyl and cocaine. Wilkin Cedano, 37, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or…
November 17, 2021 KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing methamphetamine and a firearm. Michael Allen Dicks, Jr., 32, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to 15 years in federal prison without parole. Dicks pleaded guilty on Feb. 23…
November 17, 2021 LOS ANGELES —Today, law enforcement investigators served nine arrest warrants in multiple locations throughout Los Angeles and Riverside Counties. In March of 2020, the DEA launched Operation Crystal Shield to focus efforts on main U.S. methamphetamine trafficking transportation hubs. DEA identified eight major methamphetamine transportation hubs where Operation Crystal Shield…
November 17, 2021 OCALA, Fla. –Devonne L. Walker (36, Lady Lake) was sentenced in federal court today to 25 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Walker had pleaded guilty on July 28, 2021. According to evidence presented at the sentencing hearing, Walker was the leader and organizer of a…
November 17, 2021 Thank you and good morning. Thank you to ONDCP and to all the federal partners with whom we have been working on this important issue. This is a critical moment in our country. DEA’s mission is to keep American communities safe and healthy and we are in the midst of…
November 16, 2021 SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – An Aurora, Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing firearms after leading law enforcement officers on a high-speed chase from Bolivar, Mo., to Springfield, Mo. Milton W. Sparks, 38, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 15 years in federal…
November 16, 2021 ST. LOUIS – A federal grand jury indicted Steven Bell, along with 19 other defendants, for charges that include conspiracy to distribute heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine in a large-scale nationwide drug ring. The group transported and distributed illegal narcotics in numerous states to include California, Michigan, Missouri, Kentucky and…
November 16, 2021 DALLAS – A longtime drug dealer has been convicted of drug and gun crimes, announced DEA Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez. Following a two-day trial, a federal jury convicted Jerome Thomas Watkins, 44, of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin; possession with…
November 16, 2021 CHARLOTTE, N.C. – James Kristoffer Cantley, 39, formerly of Newton, N.C., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell to 210 months in prison and five years of supervised release for trafficking methamphetamine, announced William T. Stetzer, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. In…
November 16, 2021 BOSTON – A Colombian national, recently residing in Revere, was convicted by a federal jury today in connection with attempting to purchase 20 kilograms of cocaine from undercover agents. Jesus Arley Munera-Gomez, 35, was convicted following a week-long trial of one count of attempt to possess with intent to distribute…
November 15, 2021 BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Fabian Emilio Zapata Taborda, also known as “Milo” and “Milito,” was arraigned today before United States District Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn on an indictment charging him with leading an international cocaine distribution conspiracy. The defendant, a Colombian citizen, was arrested in…
November 15, 2021 NEW YORK — A three-month investigation disrupted a Georgia-to-New York gun trafficking pipeline and resulted in the seizure of 25 guns, including five assault weapons. The guns and a quantity of cocaine were sold to an undercover officer. Ray Donovan, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s…
November 12, 2021 LOS ANGELES —The culmination of a three-month investigation resulted in a Santa Barbara methamphetamine distributor being sentenced on November 8, 2021 to 180 months in federal prison for narcotics violations. Cesar Castillo-Pena, 35, of San Bernardino, California, was sentenced by United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner. On July 28…
November 12, 2021 EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Lamondra Beckley, 43, of St. Louis, was sentenced to 147 months in prison on Wednesday, November 10, 2021, in federal court in East St. Louis, Illinois. Beckley had previously pled guilty in federal court to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one…
November 12, 2021 BEAUMONT, Texas – A federal grand jury in Beaumont has returned a three-count indictment charging nine individuals in drug trafficking conspiracy in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux, Houston Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei today. The…
November 12, 2021 Washington, D.C. – A Mexican national was extradited from Brazil to the United States on Nov. 10 to face international drug trafficking charges. Jose Gonzalez-Valencia, aka Jafett Arias-Becerra, aka La Chepa, aka Camaron, and aka Santy, 46, arrived in the United States on Wednesday and made his initial court appearance…
November 11, 2021 LOS ANGELES – An Arizona man has agreed to plead guilty to a federal criminal charge for supplying counterfeit pharmaceutical pills containing fentanyl to the drug dealer accused of selling them to rapper Mac Miller, who soon afterward suffered a fatal overdose, the Justice Department announced today. Ryan Michael Reavis…
November 10, 2021 SAN DIEGO – Angel Dominguez Ramirez Jr. of Tamaulipas, Mexico, pleaded guilty in federal court today to drug and money laundering charges, admitting that he was the leader of a trafficking organization that transported ton-quantities of cocaine from South America to Mexico and into the United States. According to court…
November 10, 2021 BOSTON – A Quincy man was sentenced yesterday for his involvement in a drug conspiracy involving fentanyl and cocaine. Tre Fernandes, a/k/a “OZ” or “OC,” 26, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to three months in prison, nine months of home confinement and three…
November 10, 2021 MADISON, Wis. – John G. McGarry, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Wisconsin, and Timothy M. O’Shea, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Jerry Scheerer, 38, of Mauston, Wisconsin, today pleaded guilty to distributing methamphetamine and was sentenced by Chief U.S…
November 10, 2021 FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned two indictments today, charging two Fresno County men with possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute it, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. In addition to being charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, Uriel Diaz-Santos, 19, of Fresno, was…
November 10, 2021 MIAMI – A Florida man pleaded guilty yesterday to unlawfully distributing opioids at his pain management clinic in Miami, Florida. According to court documents, Habib Geagea Palacios, 40, of Miami, owned a cash-only pain management clinic in Miami, Florida named General Care Center, Inc. At General Care Center, Palacios paid…
November 10, 2021 KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Two Mexican nationals have been convicted by a federal trial jury for their roles in a $2.1 million conspiracy to distribute over 100 kilograms of methamphetamine in the Kansas City metropolitan area and in northwest Missouri. Juan Guzman, also known as “Flaco,” 40, of Kansas City…
November 10, 2021 AUGUSTA, GA – Eight men and one woman have been named in a newly unsealed federal indictment for taking part in a major drug trafficking conspiracy that funneled cocaine and other drugs from Atlanta to the Waynesboro, Ga., area. The indictment in USA v. Rhaney et al, dubbed Operation Washout…
November 10, 2021 SAVANNAH, GA: The last of four defendants has been sentenced to federal prison in a drug trafficking conspiracy that shipped cocaine and cash from coast to coast. Kevin Chelsea, 39, of Las Vegas, was sentenced to 37 months in prison after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to…
November 10, 2021 CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The supplier of a local drug network has been sentenced to 30 years in prison, announced William T. Stetzer, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Matthew Wondra, 34, of Murphy, N.C., was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release after he…
November 10, 2021 FORT WAYNE, Indiana – Alfred A. Cooke, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of United States Drug Enforcement Administration-Merrillville, Indiana, and United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson of the Northern District of Indiana, announced that Fredrick Morgan II, 42, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Holly…
November 10, 2021 ATLANTA – Thomas Ukoshovbera A. Gbenedio has been convicted by a federal jury of illegally dispensing and distributing controlled substances from his pharmacy. “Removing and ultimately eliminating healthcare providers who unlawfully dispense pharmaceutical products for non-medical reasons is an important part of DEA’s mission,” said Special Agent in Charge of…
November 10, 2021 SPOKANE, Washington – Christopher M. Valley, N.D., a Spokane-based naturopathic doctor, has agreed to pay $47,700 to resolve allegations under the Controlled Substances Act that he improperly prescribed controlled substances between December 2015 and December 2020. The Controlled Substances Act regulates certain drugs deemed to pose a risk of abuse…
November 10, 2021 This Veterans Day, we honor the millions of U.S. veterans for relentlessly defending our Nation’s ideals. The Drug Enforcement Administration is proud to have nearly 2,000 veterans serving in DEA, who bring unique military expertise to advance our mission to keep American communities safe and healthy. To all U.S. veterans…
November 09, 2021 ST. LOUIS – A federal grand jury indicted Derek Rockette of St. Louis for charges that include conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl. The indictment also alleges in a money laundering conspiracy charge that Rockette, Norma Corina Armenta-Lizarraga, Jian Zhong Fang, Yuede…
November 09, 2021 ST. LOUIS – A federal grand jury indicted Gregory Dixson, Jr., Gregory Dixson III, Miguel Angel Gonzalez, Carlos Gonzalez, Quintin D. Adkins and Ruben Sanchez Blanco to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl. The indictment alleges that in 2015 all but Blanco conspired to…
November 08, 2021 CHICAGO — Robert J. Bell, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Chicago Division, and John R. Lausch, Jr., U. S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois announced the arrests of three individuals on federal charges as part of an investigation that disrupted a suspected Mexico-to-Chicago…
November 08, 2021 NEW YORK – A months-long investigation culminated in the seizure of approximately 13 kilograms of alleged heroin (28 pounds), three guns and ammunition from an apartment used as a drug stash house in the North Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx. Two individuals were apprehended after initially evading arrest. The heroin…
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November 05, 2021 MIAMI – The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), along with its law enforcement partners, has removed close to 745,000 pounds of unneeded prescriptions from medicine cabinets across the country as part of DEA’s ongoing commitment to turn the tide against the U.S. opioid epidemic. Following last month’s 21st National Prescription Drug…
November 05, 2021 CHICAGO — Robert J. Bell, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Chicago Division, U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch, Jr. of the Northern District of Illinois, and Chicago Police Department Superintendent David O. Brown today announced that the leader of a drug trafficking organization has been sentenced…
November 04, 2021 POCATELLO – A federal jury sitting in Pocatello convicted an Idaho Falls man of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, attempted possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, and deported alien found in the United States. According to court records and evidence presented at trial, on September 26, 2017, Jose Luis Cruz-Delgado…
November 04, 2021 CHICAGO – The Drug Enforcement Administration, along with its law enforcement partners, has removed close to 745,000 pounds of unneeded prescriptions from medicine cabinets across the country as part of DEA’s ongoing commitment to turn the tide against the U.S. opioid epidemic. Following last month’s 21st National Prescription Drug Take…
November 04, 2021 CAMDEN, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson and Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Rachael A. Honig announced an Atlantic City, New Jersey, woman was convicted today of multiple drug distribution offenses. Rajeri Curry, 32, was…
November 04, 2021 HOUSTON – A fifth individual has surrendered to authorities in relation to a multi-year, multi-million dollar money laundering conspiracy, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux and Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery. Michael Dean Richards, 33, Frisco, is expected to appear for his initial…
November 03, 2021 NEWARK, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson and Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Rachael A. Honig announced a Passaic County, New Jersey, woman today admitted participating in a conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl. Nysifah…
November 03, 2021 BROOKLYN, NY – Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Joanna De Alba was sentenced by United States District Judge Dora L. Irizarry to 96 months in prison for distributing, and possessing with intent to distribute, illegal drugs over the “dark web.” De Alba distributed an array of illegal…
November 03, 2021 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, John J. Durham, Director of Joint Task Force Vulcan (“JTFV”), Anne Milgram, Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), Jay Greenberg, Acting Assistant Director of the Criminal Investigative Division of the Federal Bureau of…
November 02, 2021 Seattle – A series of arrests over the last ten days has disrupted a multi-state methamphetamine and fentanyl distribution ring. The drugs were coming up from California and were being distributed in King, Pierce, Thurston, Lewis, Mason and Kitsap counties. The 18-month investigation revealed the drug trafficking organization was also…
November 02, 2021 PORTLAND, Ore.—In August and October 2021, coordinated law enforcement operations targeting two Portland-area transnational drug trafficking cells led to the arrests of the cells’ leaders and more than a dozen associates, and the seizure of approximately 200,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills suspected to contain fentanyl, two pounds of fentanyl powder, 40…
November 02, 2021 SEATTLE – The Drug Enforcement Administration, along with its law enforcement partners, has removed close to 745,000 pounds of unneeded prescriptions from medicine cabinets across the country as part of DEA’s ongoing commitment to turn the tide against the U.S. opioid epidemic. Following last month’s 21st National Prescription Drug Take…
November 02, 2021 ATLANTA – The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), along with its law enforcement and community partners, has removed close to 745,000 pounds of unneeded prescriptions from medicine cabinets across the country as part of DEA’s ongoing commitment to turn the tide against the U.S. opioid epidemic. Following last month’s 21st National…
November 02, 2021 NEW YORK – Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Daniel Rendon Herrera, also known as “Don Mario,” a citizen of Colombia, pleaded guilty to engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise and conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. The proceeding took place before United States…
November 02, 2021 CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 41-year-old convicted felon will be returning to federal prison for his role in a 17-kilogram cocaine trafficking conspiracy, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux and Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery. Marcus Donell Hollowell aka « Red » pleaded guilty August…
November 02, 2021 OMAHA, Neb. — Investigators with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Omaha Division reached thousands of individuals with messages of drug prevention and safety during annual Red Ribbon Week celebrations that began October 23. In addition to in-person presentations, 15 landmarks across the five-state division were lit with red lights, three…
November 02, 2021 NEWARK, N.J. – The Drug Enforcement Administration, along with its law enforcement partners, has removed close to 745,000 pounds of unneeded prescriptions from medicine cabinets across the country as part of DEA’s ongoing commitment to turn the tide against the U.S. opioid epidemic. Following last month’s 21st National Prescription Drug…
November 02, 2021 PHILADELPHIA – Acting Special Agent in Charge Thomas Hodnett of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Philadelphia Field Division announced today that approximately 34,150 pounds of prescription drugs were collected across Pennsylvania and Delaware by the DEA and its partners during the Prescription Drug Take Back Day event on October 23…
November 02, 2021 NEW YORK CITY – Ray Donovan, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and Thomas A. Gleason, Commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Public Safety announced that Jorge…
November 01, 2021 ST. LOUIS – The Drug Enforcement Administration, along with its law enforcement partners, has removed close to 745,000 pounds of unneeded prescriptions from medicine cabinets across the country as part of DEA’s ongoing commitment to turn the tide against the U.S. opioid epidemic. Following last month’s 21st National Prescription Drug…
November 01, 2021 Washington, D.C., – The DEA, along with its law enforcement partners, removed close to 745,000 pounds of unneeded prescriptions from medicine cabinets across the country this past Saturday, October 23rd, as part of DEA’s ongoing commitment to turn the tide against the U.S. opioid epidemic. Following last month’s 21st National…
November 01, 2021 MIAMI – A federal court in Florida ordered a Tampa-area pharmacy shut down and prohibited two of its employees from ever owning, managing or operating any business where controlled substances are dispensed. Pursuant to an agreed consent judgment and permanent injunction filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District…
November 01, 2021 PHOENIX – The DEA Phoenix Field Division, along with our law enforcement and community partners collected 9,032 pounds of unneeded prescription medications throughout the State of Arizona, as part of DEA’s on-going commitment to turn the tide against the U.S. opioid epidemic. Nationwide, close to 745,000 pounds of unneeded prescriptions…
November 01, 2021 EL PASO – The Drug Enforcement Administration, along with its law enforcement partners, has removed close to 745,000 pounds of unneeded prescriptions from medicine cabinets across the country as part of DEA’s ongoing commitment to turn the tide against the U.S. opioid epidemic. Following last month’s 21st National Prescription Drug…
November 01, 2021 SAN DIEGO – The Drug Enforcement Administration, along with its law enforcement partners, has removed close to 745,000 pounds of unneeded prescriptions from medicine cabinets across the country as part of DEA’s ongoing commitment to turn the tide against the U.S. opioid epidemic. Following last month’s 21st National Prescription Drug…
November 01, 2021 KANSAS CITY, Kan. – A federal grand jury in Kansas returned an indictment charging an Overland Park, Kansas, man on two counts of tampering with a consumer product, one count of possession of fentanyl by deception and subterfuge, and one count of possession of hydromorphone by deception and subterfuge. According…
November 01, 2021 DALLAS – The Drug Enforcement Administration, along with its law enforcement partners, has removed close to 745,000 pounds of unneeded prescriptions from medicine cabinets across the country as part of DEA’s ongoing commitment to turn the tide against the U.S. opioid epidemic. Following last month’s 21st National Prescription Drug Take…
November 01, 2021 LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Drug Enforcement Administration, along with its law enforcement partners, has removed close to 745,000 pounds of unneeded prescriptions from medicine cabinets across the country as part of DEA’s ongoing commitment to turn the tide against the U.S. opioid epidemic. Following last month’s 21st National Prescription Drug…
November 01, 2021 NEW ORLEANS – The Drug Enforcement Administration, along with its law enforcement partners, has removed close to 745,000 pounds of unneeded prescriptions from medicine cabinets across the country as part of DEA’s ongoing commitment to turn the tide against the U.S. opioid epidemic. Following last month’s 21st National Prescription Drug…
November 01, 2021 HOUSTON – The Drug Enforcement Administration, along with its law enforcement partners, has removed close to 745,000 pounds of unneeded prescriptions from medicine cabinets across the country as part of DEA’s ongoing commitment to turn the tide against the U.S. opioid epidemic. Following last month’s 21st National Prescription Drug Take…
November 01, 2021 WASHINGTON, DC – The Drug Enforcement Administration, along with its law enforcement partners, has removed close to 745,000 pounds of unneeded prescriptions from medicine cabinets across the country as part of DEA’s ongoing commitment to turn the tide against the U.S. opioid epidemic. Following last month’s 21st National Prescription Drug…
October 29, 2021 ORLANDO, Fla. – With Halloween right around the corner, law enforcement officials are urging parents to check their children’s candy. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Orlando District Office has issued a warning to the public about products that look identical to common snack foods and candy, but actually contain high…
October 28, 2021 TAMPA, Fla. –Ahmad Rashad Weston, aka “Blood,” 42, of St. Petersburg, was sentenced to 17 years and 6 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute 100 grams or more of a drug mixture containing heroin and fentanyl, as well as 500 grams or more of cocaine. Weston pleaded guilty…
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October 28, 2021 HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. – U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Division (NYD), Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan, Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini, and Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) Acting Commissioner Stuart Cameron announced today the arrest of 12 individuals, including several MS-13 gang members and associates, for…
October 28, 2021 MCALLEN, TEXAS –Twenty seven defendants were arrested from the Rio Grande Valley region on state charges related to trafficking fake counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine in addition to various drug offenses. The arrests were announced by Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Houston Division, Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux…
October 28, 2021 MIAMI – Fredy Donaldo Marmol Vallejo (Marmol), 40, will make his initial appearance in federal court in Miami, Florida today after being extradited from Honduras, his country of origin. An indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida charges Marmol with conspiring to traffic narcotics…
October 27, 2021 KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A San Diego, California, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury after smuggling nearly eight pounds of fentanyl aboard a bus traveling through Kansas City, Missouri. Jonatan Gutierrez, 28, was charged with possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute, in an indictment returned by…
October 27, 2021 NEW YORK CITY – An indictment filed by the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor charges five individuals in a sophisticated conspiracy to smuggle millions of dollars in cocaine from Puerto Rico to New York and Massachusetts via the U.S. Postal Service. Intercepted packages contained a total of 30 kilograms…
October 26, 2021 NEWARK, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson and Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Rachael A. Honig announced two Passaic County men admitted their roles in an illegal money transmitting business. Erickson Checo-Almonte, 31 of Passaic…
October 26, 2021 EL PASO – A federal jury convicted two Sinaloa Cartel members on Friday for their roles in the Sinaloa Cartel’s narcotics distribution operations. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Arturo Shows Urquidi, aka “Chous,” 50, of Juarez, Mexico and Mario Iglesias-Villegas, aka “Dos,” “El 2,” “Delta,” “Parka,”…
October 26, 2021 WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Justice, through the Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) team, joined Europol to announce the results of Operation Dark HunTor, a coordinated international effort on three continents to disrupt opioid trafficking on the Darknet. The operation, which was conducted across the United States…
October 26, 2021 SPOKANE – Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that David Barnes Nay, age 42, of Prosser, Washington, was sentenced on October 20, 2021, after having pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute eight controlled substances…
October 26, 2021 NEWARK, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson and Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Rachael A. Honig announced a Passaic County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for conspiring to distribute…
October 26, 2021 SPOKANE – Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that David Barnes Nay, age 42, of Prosser, Washington, was sentenced on October 20, 2021, after having pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute eight controlled substances…
October 26, 2021 NEWARK, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson and Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Rachael A. Honig announced a Passaic County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for conspiring to distribute…
October 26, 2021 WASHINGTON – In August, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced a comprehensive review of DEA’s foreign operations strategy to assess effectiveness, strengths, and areas for improvement. DEA announced today that former DEA Administrator Jack Lawn and Boyd Johnson, of WilmerHale, will lead the team conducting this independent review. Jack Lawn is…
October 25, 2021 WASHINGTON – The United States Drug Enforcement Administration kicked off its annual Red Ribbon Campaign, the nation’s largest drug prevention effort, on October 23. “Learning about the dangers of drugs, and talking about this with family and friends, reduces drug use, drug misuse, and addiction—especially for young people,” said DEA…
October 22, 2021 ST. LOUIS – This week the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals Service, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service arrested 17 people in Missouri, Arizona, California, and Mexico linked to an organized multi-state drug trafficking conspiracy. According to the previously sealed 16 count indictment returned on October 13, 2021, this was a…
October 22, 2021 OMAHA, Neb.– The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is kicking off Red Ribbon Week, Saturday, October 23, with 15 landmarks across the five state Omaha Division lighting up red to recognize the nation’s oldest and largest drug misuse prevention awareness program. Red Ribbon Week began following the death of DEA Special…
October 22, 2021 MIAMI – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the U.S. Department of State today announced a new reward for information that will lead to the location, arrest, and/or conviction of Colombian national Alvaro Pulido Vargas. A reward of up to $10 million dollars is being offered through the U.S…
October 22, 2021 Washington, D.C., – The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Washington Division will host its 21st National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, this Saturday, October 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event offers free and anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide. For more…
October 21, 2021 MIAMI– A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida returned an indictment on Oct. 7, 2021, which was unsealed today, charging three Colombian nationals and two Venezuelan nationals for their alleged roles in laundering the proceeds of contracts to provide food and medicine to Venezuela that were obtained…
October 21, 2021 ATLANTA – Jaime Cruz Duarte, Rito Armando Torres Gutierrez, and Antonio Penaloza Torres have been charged with federal offenses including conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. “This seizure and the…
October 21, 2021 AUGUSTA, Ga. — The man who supplied cocaine for a major Richmond County drug trafficking operation, and another man who admitted to a firearms offense related to the operation, have been sentenced to federal prison. Mario Hubbard, 45, of Smyrna, Ga., was sentenced to 151 months in prison, fined $35,000…
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October 21, 2021 DALLAS– The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 21st National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event offers free and anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide. According to a report published by the…
October 20, 2021 NEWARK, N.J. – The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 21st National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event offers free and anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide. According to a report published…
October 20, 2021 ROME, Ga. – Shane Terhune has been sentenced for selling heroin to a young couple in July 2018, having admitted that his act of distribution resulted in the overdose death of the woman. This sentence follows the August 2021 sentencing of Cornelius Brown, who received a five-year term of imprisonment…
October 20, 2021 PHILADELPHIA – The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 21st National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event offers free and anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide. According to a report published by…
October 20, 2021 ATLANTA – The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 21st National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event offers free and anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide. The Atlanta Field Division, which covers…
October 20, 2021 EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Deonta J. Thomas, 29, of Collinsville, Illinois, was sentenced in federal court in East St. Louis Oct. 18 to 10 years imprisonment for distribution of methamphetamine. Thomas pled guilty to this offense on May 20, 2021. As part of his guilty plea, Thomas acknowledged that…
October 20, 2021 OMAHA, Neb. – The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 21st National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 23, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event offers free and anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide. According to a report published…
October 20, 2021 MADISON, Wis. – John G. McGarry, the Assistant Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Wisconsin, and Timothy M. O’Shea, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Doua Moua, 37, from Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley…
October 20, 2021 CHICAGO – The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 21st National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event offers free and anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide. According to a report published by…
October 20, 2021 NEW ORLEANS – The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 21st National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event offers free and anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide. According to a report published…
October 20, 2021 PHOENIX – The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 21st National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event offers free and anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide. Last April, residents of Arizona turned…
October 19, 2021 SEATTLE – The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 21st National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event offers free and anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide. This Saturday, is another opportunity for…
October 19, 2021 HOUSTON – The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 21st National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event offers free and anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide. According to a report published by…
October 19, 2021 MIAMI – The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 21st National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event offers free and anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 200 collection sites located throughout the State of Florida. Please visit…
October 19, 2021 SHERMAN, Texas – A Guatemalan national who operated an international drug trafficking ring received a life sentence, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. Wilson Wilfredo Luargas-Garcia, a/k/a “Primazo,” 44, was convicted on Sep. 18, 2019 to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine for distribution…
October 19, 2021 WASHINGTON, DC – The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 21st National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event offers free and anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide. According to a report published…
October 19, 2021 Miami, Florida – Alex Nain Saab Moran (Saab), 49, a Colombian citizen, will make his initial appearance in federal court in Miami, Florida, today after being extradited from the Republic of Cabo Verde. Saab is charged in an indictment with laundering the proceeds of violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices…
October 19, 2021 ALBANY, NY – Richard “Richie” Sinde, age 56, of Fort Lee, New Jersey, and Robert “Bobby” Ingrao, age 74, of Lodi, New Jersey, were indicted last month for trafficking 9 kilograms of cocaine. The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Ray Donovan, Special Agent in…
October 18, 2021 HOUSTON – A federal jury convicted a Houston-area physician for unlawfully prescribing more than 1.3 million doses of opioids. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Parvez Qureshi, 56, of Houston, Texas, a medical doctor, conspired to and did unlawfully prescribe controlled substances from 2014 through February 2016…
October 18, 2021 CHICAGO – As part of a pledge to live drug free, several iconic buildings visible along the Chicago skyline, including Willis Tower, Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower, Prudential Plaza and 875 North Michigan will illuminate red lighting and display messaging in support of Red Ribbon Week on Saturday, Oct. 23…
October 15, 2021 Seattle – A 22-year-old Mount Vernon, Washington, man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 100 months in prison and 4 years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas W. Brown. Defendant Jiovanni Nunez supplied counterfeit oxycodone pills tainted with fentanyl to…
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October 15, 2021 Spokane – Helmut Ewe Borchert, age 62, of Spokane, Washington, was sentenced today after having pleaded guilty on July 15, 2021, to Possession with Intent to Distribute 500 Grams or More of a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine. United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced…
October 14, 2021 DALLAS – A Colombian man was sentenced to nearly three decades in federal prison for drug trafficking violations. Manuel Camilo Renteria Lemus, 37, pleaded guilty on Nov. 16, 2020, to conspiracy to manufacture and distribution of cocaine, knowing it would be imported into the United States. Lemus was sentenced to…
October 14, 2021 NEWARK, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson and Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Rachael A. Honig announced a Suffolk County, New York, man was sentenced today to 33 months in prison for illegally possessing a…
October 13, 2021 ST. LOUIS – Kevin Karll of Jefferson County, Missouri, pleaded guilty today for the crimes of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Sentencing has been set for Jan. 11, 2022. Kevin Karll is the first defendant to plead guilty in a multi-defendant conspiracy to distribute…
October 13, 2021 ST. LOUIS – Keith A. Kos, Jr., of St. Charles, Missouri, pled guilty yesterday for the crimes of distribution of fentanyl and methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and knowingly possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Sentencing is set for January 18, 2022. According to…
October 13, 2021 FORT MYERS, Fla. – David Levon Massey (32, Cape Coral) was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute. Massey had pleaded guilty on July 7, 2021. According to court documents, in February 2020, Massey was released from federal prison after serving more…
October 13, 2021 SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A West Plains, Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Howell, Greene, and Texas counties. Jose I. Gonzales, 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 10 years in federal prison without parole…
October 13, 2021 WASHINGTON – DEA Administrator Anne Milgram and United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams announced yesterday the arrest of Malek Mohammad Balouchzehi, aka “Malek Khan,” for conspiring to import heroin into the United States and distributing heroin for importation into the United States. Balouchzehi, a…
October 12, 2021 BOISE – A Boise man and an Arizona man were sentenced to federal prison for conspiracy and for possessing methamphetamine and fentanyl with the intent to distribute it to others. Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye sentenced Derek J. Tuschoff, 36, of Boise, to seven years imprisonment and Robert…
October 12, 2021 BOISE – A Nampa man pleaded guilty to distribution of methamphetamine. According to court records, Allen Eugene McLean, 20, of Nampa, sold another person methamphetamine on two different occasions. On June 23, 2020, McLean sold 4.5 grams of methamphetamine and on August 13, 2020, he sold 26.7 grams of methamphetamine…
October 12, 2021 LUBBOCK, TX – A dozen Lubbock drug traffickers have been sentenced to a combined 106 years in federal prison. The defendants were arrested during a DEA operation called Los Perros De Nieve (“Operation Snow Dogs”), which also resulted in the seizure of multiple kilograms of cocaine, more than a dozen…
October 12, 2021 CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Tori R. Carlisle, 43, was sentenced today to serve six years in federal prison following her guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. According to court documents, law enforcement officers arrested Carlisle at a truck stop in New Madrid County on July 25, 2020…
October 12, 2021 KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Four people received prison sentences following convictions in relation to a drug trafficking ring that operated for years in the Kansas City metropolitan area. According to court documents, the Jackson County Drug Task Force began an undercover operation in 2016 surrounding a drug trafficking ring. The…
October 12, 2021 OMAHA, Neb.– Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a proclamation declaring October 23-31, Red Ribbon Week across the state, urging citizens to take note of the observance by committing to healthy drug-free lifestyles and participating in drug prevention activities. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Omaha Division partnered with Iowa’s Office of…
October 12, 2021 MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA- Acting United States Attorney M. Rhett Dehart announced today that a joint team of dozens of federal, state, and local law enforcement officers, led by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), arrested seven individuals who have been indicted in federal court and face charges related to…
October 12, 2021 ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Acting U.S. Attorney William T. Stetzer announced today that a multi-agency investigation into methamphetamine trafficking and illegal firearm possession in Western North Carolina has led to federal drug and gun charges filed against 25 individuals. On Sunday, August 15, 2021, teams of federal, state and local law…
October 12, 2021 NEW BERN, N.C. – DiTwan Davis, 26, of Goldsboro North Carolina, was sentenced on August 12, 2021 to 118 months in prison for Possession of a firearm by a Convicted Felon and Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with the Intent to Distribute a quantity of methamphetamine. According to court documents…
October 12, 2021 CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Today, Chief U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced Lillian Elaine Brady, 53, Cherokee, N.C., to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release for trafficking methamphetamine, fentanyl and other narcotics, announced William T. Stetzer, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Robert…
October 12, 2021 NEW BERN, N.C. –A Dover man was sentenced today to 340 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and a quantity of cocaine, and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and a quantity…
October 12, 2021 ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Chief U. S. District Judge Martin Reidinger handed down a lengthy sentence today to a Hendersonville, N.C., man convicted of trafficking cocaine, fentanyl, prescription pills and other narcotics in and around Henderson County, announced Acting U.S. Attorney William T. Stetzer. On December 9, 2020, Butler pleaded guilty…
October 07, 2021 CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. – A federal jury in Central Islip returned a guilty verdict this afternoon against Frank Parasmo, a medical doctor with an office in Deer Park, on 31 counts of unlawfully distributing oxycodone, a highly addictive prescription painkiller, and one count of unlawfully distributing hydrocodone, all without a…
October 07, 2021 CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. – Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Tameshwar Ammar, a former medical doctor in Roslyn, New York, was sentenced by United States District Judge Denis R. Hurley to five years’ imprisonment for conspiring to illegally distribute oxycodone. In June 2020, Ammar relinquished his license to…
October 07, 2021 EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Deandre Young, 42, of Saint Louis, pled guilty to one count of aiding and abetting co-defendant Lamondra Beckley’s possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense on Oct. 7 in federal court…
October 07, 2021 CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 36-year-old Corpus Christi gang member with a lengthy criminal history has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of firearms and drug trafficking offenses, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux and Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery. A federal…
October 07, 2021 CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr. sentenced Courtney Williams to 60 months in federal prison today for methamphetamine charges. The 46-year-old Portageville, Missouri, resident pleaded guilty in June 2021 to four counts of distribution of methamphetamine. During July, August and September 2018, on four occasions…
October 07, 2021 PHOENIX, Ariz. – A public funeral for Drug Enforcement Administration Supervisory Special Agent Michael G. Garbo will be held on Friday, October 8, 2021, at Calvary Chapel in Tucson. Special Agent Garbo died Monday as a result of injuries sustained during a shooting in downtown Tucson. Friday’s service will honor…
October 06, 2021 NEWARK, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson and Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Rachael A. Honig announced a Cumberland County, New Jersey, man today admitted conspiring to distribute and possessing with intent to distribute 400…
October 06, 2021 LAREDO, Texas – A 45-year-old Laredo resident has been ordered to federal prison for his role as a leader-organizer in a meth distribution conspiracy, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux and Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery. Federico Castanon pleaded guilty June 21. Today, U.S…
October 06, 2021 CHICAGO – Robert J. Bell, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Chicago Division, and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced that a Belvidere man was sentenced to 16 years in prison for possessing heroin which he intended to sell. William Butler, 66, of Belvidere, Illinois…
October 06, 2021 OMAHA, Neb.– Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Omaha Division Special Agent in Charge Justin C. King stressed the importance of drug education and prevention at a Red Ribbon Week proclamation signing ceremony attended by Nebraska Lt. Governor Mike Foley at the Capitol in Lincoln. Red Ribbon Week is the nation’s oldest…
October 06, 2021 EL PASO – To commemorate Red Ribbon Week, Fire Prevention Week, and National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Drug Enforcement Administration El Paso Division, the El Paso Association of Firefighters Local 51, El Paso Electric, Texas Gas Service, YWCA El Paso Del Norte Region, and the El Paso Chamber partnered…
October 06, 2021 ST. LOUIS – A federal jury returned verdicts of guilty late yesterday against Gerald Hunter, 55, of Los Angeles, for the offenses of conspiracy to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, and two counts…
October 06, 2021 Defendants were indicted as part of Operation Stranded Bandit SAVANNAH, GA – A member of a violent Chicago street gang, two Ghost Face Gangsters and a conduit for Mexican drug cartels have been sentenced to decades in federal prison for their roles in a major drug trafficking conspiracy that funneled…
October 06, 2021 STATESBORO, GA – Seven defendants are accused of participating in a major drug trafficking conspiracy in an indictment newly unsealed in U.S. District Court. The investigation in Operation Ace in the Hole II, under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), targeted the distribution of heroin and fentanyl-tainted heroin…
October 06, 2021 MACON, Ga. – A federal jury convicted a Macon resident with a lengthy criminal history of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, heroin and Tramadol, as well as illegally possessing a firearm and possessing a gun in furtherance of drug trafficking this afternoon. Kelvin Henry, 56, of Macon, was found…
October 06, 2021 SAVANNAH, GA – Two Bryan County men face up to life in prison after another man’s fatal fentanyl overdose. Javarus McKinney, a/k/a “Jody,” 32, of Richmond Hill, Ga., is charged with Distribution of Fentanyl Resulting in Death, Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, and Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl…
October 05, 2021 Washington – Yesterday, two DEA Special Agents and a DEA Task Force Officer from the Tucson Police Department were involved in a shooting incident during a law enforcement operation in Tucson, Arizona. The DEA is deeply saddened to report that DEA Group Supervisor Michael G. Garbo died as a result…
October 05, 2021 EUGENE, Ore.—On September 15, 2021, a coordinated law enforcement operation targeting the leader and several associates of a Lane County drug trafficking cell led to the seizure of 384 pounds of methamphetamine, the largest single methamphetamine seizure in Oregon State history and valued at over a million dollars. The operation…
October 04, 2021 Anne Milgram, Administrator for the Drug Enforcement Administration, releases statement following today’s deadly shooting in Tucson, Arizona. “Tragically, this morning, two DEA special agents and a DEA task force officer from the Tucson Police Department were shot during a law enforcement operation in Tucson, Arizona. One DEA special agent died…
October 04, 2021 KANSAS CITY, Kan. – A federal grand jury in Kansas City, Kansas, returned an indictment charging a nurse from Kansas City, Missouri, with two counts of tampering with a consumer product and two counts of possession of fentanyl by deception and subterfuge. According to court documents, between January 2020 and…
October 04, 2021 ST. LOUIS – Olive Street Pharmacy, LLC, and pharmacy technician Irina Shlafshteyn, agreed to pay $1,507,808.50 to resolve a civil complaint bringing claims under the False Claims Act and Controlled Substances Act related to the unlawful dispensing of controlled substances, including some that were submitted to Medicaid or Medicare for…
October 04, 2021 HOUSTON – A 33 year-old Houston man with a lengthy criminal history has been ordered to federal prison after packaging thousands of ecstasy pills for sale, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux and Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery. Marquese Scott aka Fatboi pleaded guilty…
October 01, 2021 GREENSBORO – Yesterday, at a press conference, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram announced a significant law enforcement surge to protect American communities from the flood of fentanyl and fentanyl-laced pills across the United States. Illicit fentanyl, a synthetic opioid found in most of the…
October 01, 2021 RALEIGH – Yesterday, at a press conference, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram announced a significant law enforcement surge to protect American communities from the flood of fentanyl and fentanyl-laced pills across the United States. Illicit fentanyl, a synthetic opioid found in most of the…
October 01, 2021 CHARLOTTE – Yesterday, at a press conference, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram announced a significant law enforcement surge to protect American communities from the flood of fentanyl and fentanyl-laced pills across the United States. Illicit fentanyl, a synthetic opioid found in most of the…
October 01, 2021 COLUMBIA – Yesterday, at a press conference, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram announced a significant law enforcement surge to protect American communities from the flood of fentanyl and fentanyl-laced pills across the United States. Illicit fentanyl, a synthetic opioid found in most of the…
October 01, 2021 ATLANTA – Yesterday, at a press conference, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram announced a significant law enforcement surge to protect American communities from the flood of fentanyl and fentanyl-laced pills across the United States. Illicit fentanyl, a synthetic opioid found in most of the…
October 01, 2021 KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Poplar Bluff, Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court today for smuggling more than a kilogram of fentanyl in his luggage aboard a train that stopped in Kansas City, Mo., from Los Angeles, Calif., bound for St. Louis, Mo. Joseph D. Christie, 43, was sentenced…
October 01, 2021 JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Missouri, man has been convicted by a federal trial jury of possessing methamphetamine to distribute. Anthony Martinez Harris, 48, was found guilty on Wednesday, Sept. 29, of one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. On Sept. 26, 2019, employees at…
October 01, 2021 NEW ORLEANS – Today, at a press conference, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram announced a significant law enforcement surge to protect American communities from the flood of fentanyl and fentanyl-laced pills across the United States. Illicit fentanyl, a synthetic opioid found in most of…
October 01, 2021 NEW ORLEANS – Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a Public Safety Alert warning Americans of the alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. DEA’s Public Safety Alert, the first in six years, seeks to raise public awareness of a significant nationwide…
October 01, 2021 SAVANNAH, GA: Two McIntosh County men indicted as part of a major drug trafficking operation have been sentenced to federal prison for charges including armed robbery. John Hope Jr., 28, of Townsend, Ga., was sentenced to 111 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to…
October 01, 2021 FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alfred A. Cooke III, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Merrillville, Indiana, and Acting U.S. Attorney Tina Nommay of the Northern District of Indiana announced that Eric W. Johnson, 40, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was sentenced before U.S. District Court Judge Holly A. Brady…
September 30, 2021 MIAMI – Today, at a press conference, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram announced a significant law enforcement surge to protect American communities from the flood of fentanyl and fentanyl-laced pills across the United States. Illicit fentanyl, a synthetic opioid found in most of the…
September 30, 2021 SAN DIEGO – Today, at a press conference, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram announced a significant law enforcement surge to protect American communities from the flood of fentanyl and fentanyl-laced pills across the United States. Illicit fentanyl, a synthetic opioid found in most of…
September 30, 2021 NEWARK, N.J. – Today, at a press conference, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram announced a significant law enforcement surge to protect American communities from the flood of fentanyl and fentanyl-laced pills across the United States. Illicit fentanyl, a synthetic opioid found in most of…
September 30, 2021 CHICAGO – Today, at a press conference, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram announced a significant law enforcement surge to protect American communities from the flood of fentanyl and fentanyl-laced pills across the United States. Illicit fentanyl, a synthetic opioid found in most of the…
September 30, 2021 SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Ernest Shaw, Sr. of New Woodstock, New York, was convicted yesterday of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute in excess of five kilograms of cocaine, and 28 grams of cocaine base (crack) following a five-day jury trial in United States District Court in Syracuse…
September 30, 2021 SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Republic, Missouri, man who led law enforcement officers on a high-speed chase pleaded guilty in federal court today to possessing methamphetamine to distribute. Heath E. Yarger, 49, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to…
September 30, 2021 WASHINGTON – Today, at a press conference, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram announced a significant law enforcement surge to protect American communities from the flood of fentanyl and fentanyl-laced pills across the United States. Illicit fentanyl, a synthetic opioid found in most of the…
September 30, 2021 FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alfred A. Cooke III, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Merrillville, Indiana, and Acting U.S. Attorney Tina Nommay of the Northern District of Indiana announced that Nathan Wilkes, age 39, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was sentenced upon his plea of guilty to possession with…
September 30, 2021 Long Island, NY – Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, Ira Hall was sentenced by United States District Judge Joanna Seybert to 13 years’ imprisonment for distributing cocaine and the unlawful use of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking in August 2017. When Hall pleaded guilty…
September 29, 2021 ROCHESTER, 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 Jamal A. Anderson a/k/a Jamel Anderson a/k/a Jemel Jefferson a/k/a James Jefferson a/k/a Mike Jefferson a/k/a Blaze, 40, of Elmira, NY, who was convicted…
September 28, 2021 ST. LOUIS – Derek J. Petty of St. Louis was sentenced today to a term of 91 months in federal prison. Petty was convicted by a jury in April of one count of conspiracy to obtain a controlled substance by fraud. The evidence presented at trial proved that Petty’s co-conspirator…
September 28, 2021 ST. LOUIS – Deaunta Miller of St. Louis pleaded guilty today for the crime of knowingly and intentionally possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute. Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration began an investigation into Deaunta Miller’s narcotics trafficking in June of 2020. During their investigation, agents conducted controlled purchases…
September 28, 2021 Brideport, Conn. – Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, and New London Police Chief Brian Wright, today announced that a federal jury in Bridgeport has found Anthony Whyte, also…
September 28, 2021 Hartford, Conn. – Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Kendall Jones, also known as “Wolf,” 32, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 84 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release…
September 28, 2021 SAVANNAH, GA: A North Carolina man who ordered and illegally sold highly addictive opioids through the Dark Web has been sentenced to federal prison. Wesley McKeehan, 34, of Salisbury, N.C., was sentenced to 26 months in prison after pleading guilty to Distribution of Oxycodone, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S…
September 28, 2021 Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a Public Safety Alert warning Americans of the alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. DEA’s Public Safety Alert, the first in six years, seeks to raise public awareness of a significant nationwide surge in counterfeit…
September 28, 2021 EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Anthony Wisham, 59, of East St. Louis, Illinois, pled guilty to two counts of distribution of fentanyl, one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and one count of felon in possession of a firearm, on Sept. 27, in federal court in East St…
September 27, 2021 WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a Public Safety Alert warning Americans of the alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. DEA’s Public Safety Alert, the first in six years, seeks to raise public awareness of a significant nationwide…
September 27, 2021 SEATTLE – Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a Public Safety Alert warning Americans of the alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. DEA’s Public Safety Alert, the first in six years, seeks to raise public awareness of a significant nationwide surge…
September 27, 2021 PHOENIX – Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a Public Safety Alert warning Americans of the alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. DEA’s Public Safety Alert, the first in six years, seeks to raise public awareness of a significant nationwide surge…
September 27, 2021 ATLANTA, GA – Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a Public Safety Alert warning Americans of the alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. DEA’s Public Safety Alert, the first in six years, seeks to raise public awareness of a significant…
September 27, 2021 Newark, N.J. – Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a Public Safety Alert warning Americans of the alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. DEA’s Public Safety Alert, the first in six years, seeks to raise public awareness of a significant nationwide…
September 27, 2021 LOS ANGELES – Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a Public Safety Alert warning Americans of the alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. DEA’s Public Safety Alert, the first in six years, seeks to raise public awareness of a significant nationwide…
September 27, 2021 ST. LOUIS – Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a Public Safety Alert warning Americans of the alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. DEA’s Public Safety Alert, the first in six years, seeks to raise public awareness of a significant nationwide…
September 27, 2021 Washington, D.C. – Today, Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Washington Division issued a Public Safety Alert warning Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. residents of the alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl in our area. This DEA Public Safety Alert…
September 27, 2021 WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a Public Safety Alert warning Americans of the alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. DEA’s Public Safety Alert, the first in six years, seeks to raise public awareness of a significant nationwide…
September 27, 2021 Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a Public Safety Alert warning Americans of the alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. DEA’s Public Safety Alert, the first in six years, seeks to raise public awareness of a significant nationwide surge in counterfeit…
September 27, 2021 WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a Public Safety Alert warning Americans of the alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. DEA’s Public Safety Alert, the first in six years, seeks to raise public awareness of a significant nationwide…
September 27, 2021 NEW YORK – Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a Public Safety Alert warning Americans of the alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. DEA’s Public Safety Alert, the first in six years, seeks to raise public awareness of a significant nationwide…
September 27, 2021 WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a Public Safety Alert warning Americans of the alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. DEA’s Public Safety Alert, the first in six years, seeks to raise public awareness of a significant nationwide…
September 27, 2021 CHICAGO – Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a Public Safety Alert warning Americans of the alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. DEA’s Public Safety Alert, the first in six years, seeks to raise public awareness of a significant nationwide surge…
September 24, 2021 POCATELLO, Idaho – Jesse Kirby, 45, Trevor Van Horn, 31, and Debra Trujillo, 63, all of Idaho Falls, were sentenced to federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill sentenced Kirby to 110 months imprisonment, Van Horn to 100 months imprisonment…
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Comment expliquez-vous l’absence de soutien des responsables politiques vis-à-vis de Fiévet ?
Les dits « responsables » se sentent éventuellement concernés par les actions qu’ils ont conduites ou autorisées ou qui sont intervenues durant leur mandat, mais rarement pour celles qui sont intervenues des années auparavant. A fortiori lorsque la majorité politique a changé.
Pensez-vous que cette affaire puisse remettre en cause le système des aviseurs ?
Plus qu’un aviseur, Fiévet était un infiltré. Il est clair que ne pas soutenir un infiltré ne peut que tarir le recrutement.
L’aviseur normal ne doit pas s’attendre à une protection particulière. Il donne une information, on l’exploite et si il y a un résultat il sera rémunéré en fonction de celui-ci. Tout ce qu’on lui garantit, c’est de conserver son anonymat.
Marc Fiévet estime que certains de ses signalements n’ont pas débouché sur une intervention des douanes…
C’est vraisemblable et c’est normal. Toutes ces affaires sont internationales, elles mettent en jeu de nombreux services et les informations doivent transiter par des chaines hiérarchiques relevant de plusieurs pays.Vous pouvez ajouter le facteur temps, souvent essentiel, le facteur météo, la chance ou la malchance, pour comprendre que donner une info et réaliser une affaire sont deux choses différentes.
Comment se situe la France, en matière de lutte contre le trafic international ?
En Europe , je crois que nous sommes parmi les gens qui comptent, comme les Britanniques. Il faut tout de même savoir que l’on estime que l’on n’arrête que 5 à 10% de la drogue et qu’il a été jusqu’ici impossible de faire mieux. Beaucoup de pays font plus mal ! C’est le problème de la demande qu’il faudrait traiter, car il est illusoire de croire que l’on règlera la question en jugulant l’offre, ce qui est impossible dans un monde de plus en plus ouvert, avec des États aux motivations souvent antagonistes. Croit-on résoudre l’alcoolisme en supprimant l’alcool ?
Que faudrait-il changer pour accroître l’action des douanes en la matière ?
Le problème ne concerne pas que la douane, mais aussi la police et la gendarmerie. Il faut développer le renseignement aux plans national et international. L’échange de renseignements se heurte à de nombreuses difficultés : égoïsme des services qui travaillent d’abord pour eux mêmes, rivalités entre services, confidentialité des sources, rémunération des indics,etc.
Après le triste exemple Fiévet, il faudrait se donner les moyens d’avoir des infiltrés, de s’en occuper, de leur fournir protection. Ce qui implique des moyens considérables, notamment juridiques. Je doute qu’on en prenne le chemin, car les efforts à consentir ne peuvent être garantis au niveau des résultats à en escompter.
Publié le 09 décembre 2007, par David Servenay
Dans la peau d’un narco infiltré au coeur de la mafia de Marc Fiévet et Oliver-Jourdan Roulot, éditions Hugodoc
Au service de l’État à travers la douane, 1954-1996 de Jean-Henri Hoguet, éditions l’Harmattan
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Le Directeur général de la Douane française François Auvigne, un énarque inspecteur des finances, est totalement responsable de cette dérive juridico-administrative.
Sa couardise avérée et son refus d’assumer les engagements pris auprès de Marc Fievet par les dirigeants de la DNRED et par les envoyés douaniers venus rencontrer Fievet au Canada, confirment que chez ces gens-là, l’honneur n’existe pas .
Chargé de mission auprès de Dominique Strauss-Kahn, ministre de l’Economie et des Finances, à qui Fievet avait écrit de sa prison canadienne de Renous, François Auvigne avait envoyé Messieurs Gatard de Marseille et Roux de Washington DC pour convaincre Fievet de Plaider coupable au Canada en faisant préciser que l’on arrangerait sa situation dès son retour en France
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La police m’avait pourtant fait partir !
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Le gouvernement des États-Unis a annoncé mercredi des sanctions contre quatre Mexicains du cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), les frères Aldrín Miguel Jarquín Jarquín et José Jesús Jarquín Jarquín, ainsi que César Enrique Díaz de León Saucedo et Fernando Zagal Antón, qu’il accuse d’avoir dirigé les opérations de trafic de drogue.
Le directeur du Bureau de contrôle des avoirs étrangers du Trésor, Andrea Gacki, a souligné l’importance de lieux stratégiques tels que le port de Manzanillo, dans l’État mexicain de Colima, dans le trafic international de drogue. « Ce port sur la côte Pacifique est utilisé comme un point d’entrée majeur pour la cocaïne colombienne et les précurseurs chimiques importés d’Asie, y compris ceux utilisés pour synthétiser le fentanyl pour la distribution finale aux États-Unis« , a déclaré Gacki.
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September 24, 2021 KANSAS CITY, Kan. – A federal grand jury in Kansas City, Kansas, returned an indictment charging 15 people with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. According to court documents, the defendants allegedly intentionally conspired to distribute cocaine in…
September 22, 2021 NEWARK, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson and Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Rachael A. Honig announced a Passaic County, New Jersey, man today admitted participating in a conspiracy to distribute heroin. Shamir Williams, 26…
September 22, 2021 CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia announced today the arrests of four individuals for their roles in a drug trafficking organization responsible for distributing methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, and marijuana in Parkersburg and elsewhere. The takedown is…
September 22, 2021 MADISON, Wis. – Assistant Special Agent in Charge John G. McGarry, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Wisconsin, and Acting U.S. Attorney Timothy M. O’Shea of the Western District of Wisconsin announced charges against three individuals for crimes related to the distribution of methamphetamine and attempted distribution of fentanyl. Jason Jordan, 36, Madison…
September 22, 2021 AMARILLO,TX – After a multiple month joint investigation with the Hutchinson County Sheriff Office, Borger Police Department, and the Amarillo DEA, Jeff Daniel was arrested today on multiple Federal Drug Trafficking charges. DEA will continue to work together to clean up our community and will not tolerate Heroin and Methamphetamine…
September 21, 2021 COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – Larry Junior Hillbroom, 37, of Hope, Idaho, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine on September 21, 2021. Chief Magistrate Judge Candy W. Dale took Hillbroom’s plea and set the case for sentencing on February 8, 2022. According to court records, in 2015 and 2016, Hillbroom…
September 21, 2021 DALLAS – Attorney General Javier Caraballo, of the Republic of Panama, joined DEA Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas Field Division Eduardo A. Chavez; Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei, for the Eastern District of Texas; Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Spradlin of HSI, Dallas Field Office; FBI…
September 21, 2021 DALLAS – The Department of Justice announced today criminal charges against 138 defendants, including 42 doctors, nurses, and other licensed medical professionals, in 31 federal districts across the United States, for their alleged participation in various healthcare fraud schemes that resulted in approximately $1.4 billion in alleged losses. The charges…
September 20, 2021 DUBLIN, GA – A key figure in a Laurens County-area drug trafficking conspiracy has been sentenced to more than 20 years in federal prison. Rodney Jarrod Denson, a/k/a “RD,” 45, of Dublin, Ga., was sentenced to 262 months in prison after pleading guilty Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute…
September 20, 2021 WASHINGTON: A strategically coordinated, six-week nationwide federal law enforcement action has resulted in criminal charges against 138 defendants, including 42 doctors, nurses, and other licensed medical professionals, in 31 federal districts across the United States for their alleged participation in various healthcare fraud schemes for more than $1.4 billion in…
September 20, 2021 CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – A Cedar Rapids, Iowa, man and woman responsible for participating in a robbery that led to the murder of another man were sentenced to a combined 43 years and four months in federal prison. Evidence during the case established that Danielle Busch, William Leo Yancey and…
September 20, 2021 SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alfred A. Cooke III, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Merrillville, Indiana, and Acting United States Attorney Tina L. Nommay of the Northern District of Indiana announced that Bradley Burns, 33, of South Bend, Indiana was sentenced before United States District Court Judge Damon…
September 17, 2021 WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice announced today criminal charges against 138 defendants, including 42 doctors, nurses, and other licensed medical professionals, in 31 federal districts across the United States, for their alleged participation in various healthcare fraud schemes that resulted in approximately $1.4 billion in alleged losses. The charges…
September 17, 2021 SYRACUSE, NY – Charles Scott, 61, of Syracuse pled guilty yesterday to distributing cocaine and heroin, possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl, and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, announced Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon, and Ray Donovan, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement…
September 16, 2021 NEW YORK CITY – Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Dermot Shea, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department , and Ray Donovan, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration, announced that Jose Luis…
September 15, 2021 ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Miguel Baez Guevara, 38, a United States citizen living in Mexico, was indicted by a federal grand jury on 17 counts related to his leadership role in trafficking narcotics directly from Mexico to Alaska. Guevara was arrested by Mexican immigration authorities from the Instituto Nacional de Migración…
September 14, 2021 BROOKLYN, NY – Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Alvaro Vivero Rendon was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment by United States District Judge Edward R. Korman for conspiracy to internationally distribute cocaine. As part of the sentence, the Court entered a forfeiture money judgment of $20 million. Vivero pleaded…
September 14, 2021 TAMPA, Fla. – Six individuals who are part of the Fernando Pineda-Jimenez Transnational Criminal Organization have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a conspiracy to distribute cocaine using vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States (U.S.). Fernando Pineda-Jimenez, a/k/a “Padrino,” 40, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy…
September 13, 2021 SEATTLE – Dr. Gerald Lee, a Seattle physician, has agreed to pay $150,000 to resolve allegations that he violated the Controlled Substances Act and False Claims Act. Specifically, the United States alleges that from January 2016 to September 2017, Dr. Lee violated the Controlled Substances Act by writing 23 prescriptions…
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La DEA est omniprésente en Afrique et en Europe, comme partout ailleurs dans le monde pour « aider » les services des différentes douanes, de la police et des gendarmes.
Pourquoi, alors qu’elle est dans l’incapacité de ralentir le narcotrafic vers le territoire des États-Unis et de faire diminuer la consommation de drogue sur son propre territoire ?
Certainement le partage d’informations récoltées par les innombrables agences dédiées à la lutte contre le narcotrafic.
L’organisation démantelée utilisait un camion qui prenait un ferry entre Tanger et Algésiras.
La « Policia Nacional » espagnole, dans le cadre d’une opération conjointe menée avec la Direction générale de la sûreté nationale 
(DGSN) du Maroc et la DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) des États-Unis, a démantelé un réseau de trafic de drogues à Algésiras.
Plus de huit tonnes de haschich marocain ont été saisies et cinq personnes dont un Marocain arrêtées lors de l’opération.
Les agents, après avoir identifié le camion, ont mis en place un dispositif au port d’Algésiras afin de connaître la destination de la drogue importée et d’identifier et appréhender les acteurs de ce trafic mené depuis la localité Pontevedra de Cambados (Galice).
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Así, y merced a la citada cooperación internacional, la Brigada Central (en concreto, la unidad Greco Galicia con base en Pontevedra) coordinó el operativo de vigilancia que le sirvió para detectar la llegada de un camión cargado de droga por el puerto de Algeciras . Mediante un sigiloso seguimiento, los agentes comprobaron que el vehículo se dirigía a una finca en una zona apartada, donde también se ocultaba una narcolancha. Dos vehículos salieron a su encuentro, uno de los cuales ya había sido detectado horas antes en el puerto controlando la salida de la droga.
AVISEUR INTERNATIONAL 