45 People Indicted for Fentanyl Sales and Money Laundering on Behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel

The Department of Justice (DOJ) for the Southern District of Ohio has brought money-laundering and fentanyl distribution charges against 12 people in Cincinnati. Additionally, 40 people in San Diego, California have been charged, along with others in Columbus, Ohio, the Eastern District of Kentucky, the District of Kansas and the Eastern District of Washington. Among those charged in California is Jose Lopez-Albarran, who they describe as a known money-laundering agent for the Sinaloa Cartel. The DOJ alleges “he and other members of the Cartel allegedly laundered tens of millions of dollars in narcotics proceeds from the United States to Mexico between 2015 and 2018. Through the investigation in California, law enforcement discovered multiple drug-trafficking cells throughout the United States.”

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New Report Shows Widespread and Deadly Impact of Illegally-Imported Fentanyl

A new report released April 10, 2018 by The Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) illustrates the growing deadly toll that illegally-imported fentanyl is having on communities throughout the U.S. PSM’s analysis confirms reports of counterfeit medicines made with fentanyl in 43 states, with fentanyl-related deaths confirmed in 22 states. The updated findings follow a report released by PSM last September that found a presence of counterfeit fentanyl in 40 states and related deaths in 16 states.

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Ohio Man Sentenced As Part of Operation “Big Oak” After Exposing Police Officer to Near-Fatal Dose of Fentanyl

An East Liverpool man, Justin Buckel, has been sentenced to six-and-a-half-years in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to drug trafficking, including assault on a police officer. In May 2017, Police Officer Chris Green was exposed to fentanyl in East Liverpool , Ohio after searching Buckel’s care after a traffic stop. Bucknel’s arrest was part of a larger Ohio fentanyl bust, in which over 100 people were arrested.

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2 Chicago Residents Indicted for Importing Bulk Fentanyl Analogues from China

According to their indictment, Sanchez “Chez” Lackland and Jermol “Yak” Mixon face counts of fentanyl importation and distribution, as well as weapons charges. Their indictment also identifies the fentanyl analogue as methoxyacetyl fentanyl, and notes that the accused allegedly made repeated purchases of the drug from Chinese sources.

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