Twelve, Including MS-13 Gang Members Arrested for Alleged Drug Trafficking

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…

Twenty Seven Arrested in the Rio Grande Valley on Drug Charges

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…

Honduran National Charged with Transnational Cocaine Trafficking and Money Laundering Extradited to the United States

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…

California Man Indicted for Possessing Nearly Eight Pounds of Fentanyl Aboard Kansas City Bus

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…

Five Charged in Sophisticated Scheme to Mail Cocaine from Puerto Rico New York City inside Children’s Lunchboxes

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…

Two Passaic County Men Plead Guilty to Illegal Money Transmitting Scheme

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…

Two Mexican Cartel Members Found Guilty of Violating RICO Statute

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,”…

Department of Justice Announces Results of Operation Dark HunTor

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…

Washington Man Sentenced to 78 Months in Federal Prison

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…

Passaic County Man Sentenced to Five Years for Participating in Drug Conspiracy

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…

Washington Man Sentenced to 78 Months in Federal Prison

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…

Passaic County Man Sentenced to Five Years for Participating in Drug Conspiracy

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…

DEA Announces Foreign Operations Review Team

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…

DEA Kicks Off Annual Red Ribbon Campaign

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…

Agents Arrest 17 People in Large-Scale, Multi-State Drug Trafficking Ring

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…

Landmarks Across Five State DEA Division Light Red for Red Ribbon Week

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…

Reward for Information to Bring Colombian Money Launderer to Justice

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…

DEA Washington Holds National Prescription Drug Take Back Day to Turn the Tide Against the U.S. Opioid Epidemic

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…

Five Individuals Charged with Money Laundering in Connection with Alleged Venezuela Bribery Scheme

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…

Three Men Charged Following Seizure of Over 221 Kilograms of Methamphetamine

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…

Cocaine Supplier, Codefendant Sentenced to Federal Prison in Richmond County Narcotics Conspiracy

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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