DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION

Two Washington Post journalists say pharmaceutical companies collaborated with each other — and with lawyers and lobbyists — to create laws to protect the industry. Their new book is American Cartel.

Washington Post reporters Scott Higham and Sari Horwitz focus on the "Big Three" distributors that saturated the country with pain pills.

Rafael Caro Quintero is considered an architect of the 1985 kidnapping, torture and murder of DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena in Mexico, a seminal event in U.S.-Mexican relations.

It marks the biggest seizure of fentanyl pills in California history, authorities said.

Federal authorities with the Drug Enforcement Administration arrested two people outside of a Target in Mission on Friday afternoon. A truck driving near the store’s entrance was stopped by agents around 3 p.m., Sally Sparks, the Houston DEA media relations spokesman, said Friday. A woman who was driving was also taken into federal custody, and a child in the vehicle was reunited with other relatives. Sparks said she could not comment on the specifics, including the relationship between the two people arrested, but described it as part of a standard DEA operation. No injuries were reported and safety was maintained, Sparks noted.

An adaptation from Scott Higham and Sari Horwitz’s book, “American Cartel,” reveals how lobbyists, lawmakers and K Street attorneys thwarted efforts to stop the deadly flow of pain pills.

On two separate occasions, a dollar bill was found on the floor of a gas station containing methamphetamine and fentanyl, authorities say.

Marijuana apprehensions had the steepest drop of all drug-related arrests between 2010 and 2020.

Tuesday, May 17, 2022 I “Katt Williams: World War III” begins streaming on Netflix.

Overdose deaths in the U.S. have officially hit the highest record ever, according to new data released by the CDC. DEA agents report a main culprit is fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is dangerously addictive and deadly. That trend is unfortunately tracking in San Antonio too.

Materials used to make fentanyl are shipped from China to Mexico before flowing into the U.S., the Drug Enforcement Administration said.

People in the Laredo area will have an opportunity to dispose of unneeded...

The amount of the synthetic opioid seized is equivalent to 42 kilograms.

The amount of the synthetic opioid seized is equivalent to 42 kilograms.

We’re learning how a murder shown in a “48 Hours” episode from 2015 could help police in the death of Amie Harwick, a therapist who at one time was engaged to Drew Carey, host of “The Price Is Right” on CBS. Vlad Duthiers spoke with “48 Hours” correspondent Erin Moriarty about this development.

The unidentified "trainee" told authorities she'd been given a DEA badge and photo ID, and said she'd been attending school for Criminal Justice.

Emerging reports show that two little-known drugs are making lethal new contributions to America's drug overdose crisis. Para-fluorofentanyl and metonitazene are being seen more often by medical examiners looking into overdose deaths, according to a government report published Thursday. Increasingly, one or the other of the two drugs is the sole reason for some overdose deaths, said Dr. Darinka Mileusnic-Polchan, one of the report authors.

A man has been arrested for transporting approximately $845,000 cocaine and meth inside...

A San Marcos teen was among 13 recently arrested for their alleged involvement in fentanyl distribution.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

A San Marcos teen was among 13 recently arrested for their alleged involvement in fentanyl distribution.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News, News - Mobile, News Alert San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

Thirteen people were arrested this week on charges of distributing fentanyl in the Austin area.

The following is a transcript of an interview with DEA Administrator Anne Milgram that aired Sunday, December 19, 2021, on "Face the Nation."

NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins, Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb, and more appear this Sunday on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan"

The Webb County Sheriff’s Office had a special visit on Monday from a native...

Red Ribbon Week has a long-standing history throughout the community, and during October,...

The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 21st National Prescription Drug Take...

Different chemically than it was a decade ago, the drug is creating a wave of severe mental illness and worsening America’s homelessness problem.

A Colombian national police officer who was part of an elite unit that worked closely with U.S. anti-narcotics agents has been extradited to Miami to stand trial on charges he betrayed the Drug Enforcement Administration to the same traffickers they were jointly fighting.

They demanded that he “confess” about the “drug cartels." But the resident had no idea what they were talking about, his lawsuit says.

Authorities say a Drug Enforcement Administration special agent was killed when a passenger opened fire as officers were doing a routine inspection for illegal contraband on an Amtrak train in Tucson, Arizona.

A Drug Enforcement Administration special agent was killed Monday when a passenger, who also died, opened fire as officers were doing a routine inspection for illegal contraband on an Amtrak train in Tucson, Arizona, authorities said. A second agent and a Tucson police officer were wounded. “It’s very horrific and we’re all just coming to terms with just how terrible a loss this is,” Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus said.

In its first public safety alert in six years, the Drug Enforcement Administration says many counterfeit prescription drugs sold online contain a potentially lethal dose of the opioid.

Today the Drug Enforcement Administration released a Public Safety Alert warning the public about “the alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine.”

A caravan of over 150 federal, state and local law enforcement officers executed a series of search warrants early Wednesday morning in Starr County. The Drug Enforcement Administration, the lead agency, confirmed they arrested 18 people who were indicted this month on a drug-related conspiracy, according to Assistant Special Agent in Charge Robert Sanchez. About 20 different agencies participated, including the Federal Bureau of Investigations and Homeland Security Investigations. Agents arrived at target locations around 6 a.m. At two homes, flash bombs startled neighbors just south of Eisenhower Road in Rio Grande City. Multiple assets, including a vehicle from the neighborhood off of Eisenhower Road, were taken in Wednesday’s organization.

The Drug Enforcement Administration says it arrested eight members of a Rio Grande Valley cocaine trafficking organization this week and seized $2.1 million in cash, 30 vehicles and three houses.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is targeting members of what they say is a street gang that uses extreme measures of violence to rob narcotic suppliers in the Rio Grande Valley.

DEA Special Agent Mark Ibrahim faces felony charges in connection with the Capitol riot, making him the first federal law enforcement agent charged.

A Drug Enforcement Administration agent arrested on charges stemming from the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol is accused of posing for photographs in which he flashed his DEA badge and firearm outside the building while off duty.

An off-duty Drug Enforcement Administration agent posed for photographs in which he flashed his DEA badge and firearm outside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot, according to a court filing Tuesday following the agent's arrest. A video posted on the internet also showed Mark Sami Ibrahim carrying a flag bearing the words “Liberty or Death” outside the Capitol, about 12 minutes before a mob of people pulled apart a nearby set of barricades, authorities said. Ibrahim, 32, of Orange County, California, was a probationary employee of the DEA and was on personal leave from the agency when he traveled to Washington on Jan. 6.

One of the Haitian-Americans arrested in the assassination had worked as a DEA informant, CBS News has learned.

Local and federal authorities seized cocaine during a traffic stop, according to an...

Two men landed behind bars for using a vessel to smuggle marijuana from Guerrero, Mexico...

An undercover operation resulted in the arrest of an undocumented migrant who was selling...

A retired high-ranking official with the Drug Enforcement Administration has testified that three large opioid distributors had a “systematic failure” in monitoring suspicious pill orders.

Drug Enforcement Administration officials tracked down a load of more than 13 kilograms of cocaine after they allegedly received a tip, records show.

Until recently, plants from only one U.S. facility were approved for use in research. Adding new suppliers will accelerate understanding of cannabis' health effects and possible therapeutic uses.

Emails presented in a civil case ​in West Virginia that accuses drug distributors of fueling the U.S. opioid epidemic.

A diplomatic row has frozen U.S.-Mexican efforts to target drug cartels. American officials say illicit fentanyl from labs in Mexico is driving a surge in overdose deaths.

By now, the toll of the U.S. opioid epidemic is clear — encouraged by Big Pharma, doctors overprescribed pain pills, leading to widespread misuse, addiction,...

The Drug Enforcement Administration's National Prescription Drug Take Back Day invites folks from across the country to clean out their medicine cabinets to safely and anonymously turn in unwanted prescription drugs. The next Take Back Day is April 24, 2021, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day invites folks from across the country to clean out their medicine cabinets to safely and anonymously turn in unwanted prescription drugs. The next Take Back Day is April 24, 2021, from 10am - 2pm.

A federal court in Ohio issued a temporary restraining order enjoining a Toledo, Ohio, pharmacy and two of its pharmacists from dispensing opioids and other controlled substances, the Department of Justice announced today. In a civil complaint filed Jan. 6, 2021, and unsealed Jan. 14, 2021, in the Northern District of Ohio, the United States alleges that Shaffer Pharmacy, its pharmacist owner Thomas Tadsen, and pharmacist Wilson Bunton repeatedly dispensed opioids and other controlled substances in violation of the Controlled Substances Act. “Federal law requires pharmacists to ensure that the controlled substance prescriptions they fill are medically legitimate,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jennifer B. Dickey of the Justice Department's Civil Division. “Restraining the ability of these defendants to continue filling prescriptions without medical necessity is a significant step. Attorneys Patricia Fitzgerald and Angelita Cruz Bridges for the Northern District of Ohio, and Trial Attorneys Scott Dahlquist and Maryann McGuire of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch.

A San Antonio man arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated had a fake Drug Enforcement Administration badge in his vehicle, police said. Deputies found what appeared to be a DEA badge, a handgun and handcuffs in his vehicle. Deputies determined that the badge was fake and later found a website selling such replicas. While possessing a fake badge is not illegal, Sheriff Javier Salazar said the combination of a badge, weapon and handcuffs was concerning. Deputies are asking anyone with information — or people who may have seen Hernandez display the fake badge — to call the Public Integrity Unit at 210-335-5124.

A San Antonio mother was arrested Wednesday for allegedly punishing her child by holding him over their third story balcony, an arrest affidavit said. As the agent watched, Korus was scolding a 3-year-old child as she dragged him onto the balcony of their third story apartment. Korus then picked up the child and held him over the ledge of the balcony, the affidavit said. The agent said Korus held the child over the balcony for several more minutes before he was allowed to return back into the apartment. He called the San Antonio Police Department, who then attempted to make contact with Korus at the apartment, but she didn't answer the door.

SAN ANTONIO – The Drug Enforcement Administration has conducted a series of raids in San Antonio on Tuesday, resulting in 11 people being taken into custody. Assistant Special Agent Dante Sorianello said agents raided more than a dozen locations across the city in connection to a meth trafficking scheme that has taken more than a year to investigate. One of the locations raided was a home in the 500 block of Secluded Grove on the Far West Side. A large amount of meth and firearms were found at the locations raided on Tuesday, according to Sorianello. Sorianello said the DEA can only release limited information at this point.

NEW YORK – Walmart is suing the U.S. government in a pre-emptive strike in the battle over its responsibility in the opioid abuse crisis. Walmart says it is seeking a declaration from a federal judge that the government has no lawful basis for seeking civil damages from the company. The lawsuit names the Justice Department and Attorney General William Barr as defendants. Brown went into private practice in the Dallas areaA spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Texas that handled the investigation referred questions to the Justice Department in Washington. The Justice Department declined to comment.

Today, the Department of Justice announced a global resolution of its criminal and civil investigations into the opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma LP (Purdue), and a civil resolution of its civil investigation into individual shareholders from the Sackler family. The criminal resolution includes the largest penalties ever levied against a pharmaceutical manufacturer, including a criminal fine of $3.544 billion and an additional $2 billion in criminal forfeiture. The Civil SettlementsThe department’s civil settlements resolve the United States’ claims as to both Purdue and its individual shareholders, members of the Sackler family. This settlement resolves allegations that, in 2012, the Named Sacklers knew that the legitimate market for Purdue’s opioids had contracted. Except to the extent of Purdue’s admissions as part of its criminal resolution, the claims resolved by the civil settlements are allegations only.

WASHINGTON – More than 1,500 people have been arrested on state and federal criminal charges in the last three months as part of a Drug Enforcement Administration project focusing on violent crime, the agency’s acting administrator told The Associated Press. Such operations are common for the federal government, but the issue of law-and-order is a major component of President Donald Trump's reelection campaign. The DEA -- under the umbrella of the Department of Justice -- is responsible for investigating major drug cases and international drug smuggling, along with drug gangs who are often responsible for upticks in violence within communities. “By going after the violent crime, we’ve been able to investigate the larger regional groups,” Shea said. “Plus, we’re addressing the violent crime problem in these localities.”

While at the Drug Enforcement Administrations Training Academy, Brown said he was once pepper-sprayed three times in a single training exercise while other trainees were sprayed once. When both responded, the white instructor clarified, “I meant the monkey.”That behavior, as alleged in an internal complaint, didn’t stop there. The instructor also was accused of going on the loudspeaker in the tower of the outdoor firing range to taunt black trainees by making “monkey noises.”“We were like, ‘It’s 2019. That shouldn’t even be a thing that we’re dealing with,’” said Derek Moise, who did not hear the noises himself but recalled the discomfort they caused his fellow Black trainees who did. The recruits who originally accused Mortenson are still employed by the DEA and not permitted to speak publicly about the incidents.

click to enlarge ShutterstockA combined federal, state and local investigation led to the arrest of 12 purported members of the Mexican Mafia in San Antonio on drug trafficking charges, according to federal authorities. The suspects now face federal charges for bringing methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine into the San Antonio area. During raids, authorities seized 15 firearms, 20 kilograms of methamphetamine, an unspecified amount of cocaine and an undetermined amount of cash, according to federal officials. Earlier raids related to the investigation yielded 20 kilograms of methamphetamine, two kilograms of heroin and 18 firearms. The arrests were made as part of an investigation involving the Drug Enforcement Administration and other agencies that began in July.

SAN ANTONIO Federal authorities executed a search warrant Wednesday morning at a North Side San Antonio hotel after a meth lab was discovered. Drug Enforcement Administration agents searched the Fairfield Inn & Suites at 80 Trailcrest St. near Loop 1604 and Highway 281, DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Dante Sorianello said. Despite coronavirus shutdowns, San Antonio DWI arrests on par with 2019Agents found chemicals in a room that could be used to turn liquid meth into a powder, Sorianello said. The materials found by the agents will be sent to a lab for further testing. DEA is leading the investigation, while San Antonio police were also on scene to provide assistance.

The classification of marijuana as a Schedule I substance remains a controversial topic. Sparking debate: The push for medical marijuana legislation in TexasThe act established a federal U.S. drug policy under which certain substances are regulated. Despite Congress initially passing the act, the classification of substances are determined only by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA also considers marijuana to have a high potential for abuse, another key factor in Schedule I classification. The DEA announced in December that marijuana extracts, including cannabidiol or CBD, fall under Schedule I drug classification, making all forms of the plant illegal federally.

SAN ANTONIO – The Drug Enforcement Administration has moved U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs containing cannibidiol, or CBD, to Schedule V of the Controlled Substances Act. The order places drugs that are FDA-approved and contain no more than 0.1 percent of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC — the compound in cannabis that gives the user euphoric effects — in Schedule V, the DEA said. Drugs in the Schedule V category include substances containing limited quantities of certain narcotics. The FDA approved the drug Epidiolex, an oral solution that contains CBD, for medical use in the United States to treat two rare forms of epilepsy for patients 2 years or older. Currently, the state’s Compassionate Use Act allows for some qualifying epilepsy patients to access treatment with no more than 0.5 percent THC.