Narcotics/Drugs Prosecutions for June 2026
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during June 2026 the government reported 910 new narcotics/drugs prosecutions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is down 20.8 percent over the previous month.
The comparisons of the number of defendants charged with narcotics/drugs-related offenses are based on case-by-case information obtained by TRAC under the Freedom of Information Act from the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (see Table 1).
When monthly 2026 prosecutions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of filings was down (-19.4%). Prosecutions over the past year are still much lower than they were five years ago. Overall, the data show that prosecutions of this type are down 32.3 percent from levels reported in 2021.
Figure 1. Monthly Trends in Narcotics/Drugs Prosecutions
The decrease from the levels five years ago in narcotics/drugs prosecutions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of narcotics/drugs prosecutions of this type recorded on a month-to-month basis. Where a prosecution was initially filed in U.S. Magistrate Court and then transferred to the U.S. District Court, the magistrate filing date was used since this provides an earlier indicator of actual trends. The superimposed line on the bars plots the six-month moving average so that natural fluctuations are smoothed out. The one and five-year rates of change in Table 1 and in the sections that follow are all based upon this six-month moving average. To view trends year-by-year rather than month-by-month, see TRAC's annual report series for a broader picture.
Within the broad category of narcotics/drugs, cases were classified by prosecutors into more specific types.
Case types within narcotics/drugs are
Drug Trafficking
Simple Drug Possession
Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF)
Major Project Triggerlock Prosecutions (OCDETF)
Other Triggerlock Prosecutions (OCDETF)
The largest number of prosecutions of these matters in June 2026 was for "Drugs-Drug Trafficking", accounting for 95.4 percent of prosecutions. Prosecutions were also filed for "Drugs-Organized Crime Task Force" (4.1%). See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for narcotics/drugs prosecutions in June 2026 was DEA accounting for 42 percent of prosecutions referred. Other agencies with substantial numbers of narcotics/drugs referrals were: DHS (19% ), FBI (15%), ATF (13%), Local (4%). See Figure 3.
Narcotics/Drugs Prosecutions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In June 2026, 285 defendants in narcotics/drugs cases for these matters were filed in U.S. Magistrate Courts. These courts handle less serious misdemeanor cases, including what are called "petty offenses." In addition, complaints are sometimes filed in the magistrate courts before an indictment or information is entered. In these cases, the matter starts in the magistrate courts and later moves to the district court where subsequent proceedings take place.
In the magistrate courts in June the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 21 U.S.C Section 841 involving "Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A". This was the lead charge for 44.9 percent of all magistrate filings in June.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy" (28.8%), "21 USC 952 - Importation of controlled substances" (21.4%).
Narcotics/Drugs Prosecutions in U.S. District Courts
In June 2026, 625 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during June there were an additional 249 defendants whose cases moved from the magistrate courts to the U.S. district courts after an indictment or information was filed. The sections which follow cover both sets of cases and therefore cover all matters filed in district court during June.
Top Ranked Lead Charges
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the prosecutions of narcotics/drugs matters filed in U.S. District Court during June 2026.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 522 1 1 1 More 21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy 249 2 2 2 More 21 USC 952 - Importation of controlled substances 67 3 3 3 More 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 14 4 5 6 More 21 USC 963 - Attempt and conspiracy 5 5 6 7 More 18 USC 924 - Firearms; Penalties 3 6 13 16 More 21 USC 843 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts C 3 6 18 12 More 08 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien 1 8 8 23 More 18 USC 4 - Misprision of Felony 1 8 26 32 More 18 USC 933 - Trafficking in firearms 1 8 - - More 18 USC 1349 - Mail Fraud - Attempt and Conspiracy 1 8 10 32 More 18 USC 1951 - Hobbs Act 1 8 31 26 More 21 USC 331 - Fed Food, Drug & Cosmetics Act - Prohibited acts 1 8 - - More 21 USC 813 - Treatment of Controlled Substance Analogues 1 8 - - More 21 USC 844 - Penalty for simple possession 1 8 21 18 More 21 USC 856 - Establishment for manufacturing operations 1 8 38 14 More 21 USC 959 - Possession, manufacture, or distribution for purpo 1 8 15 13 More State or Territory Provision 1 8 - - More Table 2. Top Charges Filed
"Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A" (Title 21 U.S.C Section 841) was the most frequent recorded lead charge. "Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A" (Title 21 U.S.C Section 841) was ranked 1 a year ago, while it was ranked 1 five years ago.
Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Attempt and conspiracy" under Title 21 U.S.C Section 846. "Attempt and conspiracy" under Title 21 U.S.C Section 846 was ranked 2 a year ago, while it was ranked 2 five years ago.
Ranked 3rd was "Importation of controlled substances" under Title 21 U.S.C Section 952. "Importation of controlled substances" under Title 21 U.S.C Section 952 was ranked 3 a year ago, while it was ranked 3 five years ago.
Among these top ten lead charges, the one showing the greatest increase in prosecutions — up 124 percent — compared to one year ago was Title 18 U.S.C Section 924 that involves " Firearms; Penalties ". Compared to five years ago, the largest increase — 350 percent — was registered for prosecutions under " Mail Fraud - Attempt and Conspiracy " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1349 ).
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in prosecutions compared to one year ago — down 96.8 percent — was " Reentry of deported alien " (Title 8 U.S.C Section 1326 ). Compared to five years ago, the most significant decline in prosecutions — 73.3 percent — was for filings where the lead charge was " Establishment for manufacturing operations " (Title 21 U.S.C Section 856 ).
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In June 2026 the Justice Department's case-by-case records show that the government brought 308.4 narcotics/drugs prosecutions for every ten million people in the United States.
Understandably, there is great variation in the per capita number of narcotics/drugs prosecutions that are filed in each of the nation's ninety-four federal judicial districts.
The districts registering the largest number of prosecutions per capita for these matters last month are shown in Table 3. Districts must have at least 5 narcotics/drugs prosecutions to receive a ranking.
Judicial District Percapita Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago W Virg, N 2,965 23 1 33 47 More Cal, S 1,896 55 2 1 1 More Vermont 1,480 8 3 55 80 More D. C. 1,367 8 4 78 69 More Ala, S 958 7 5 57 58 More Ken, E 955 18 6 20 26 More W Virg, S 858 6 7 41 50 More N. Y., W 854 20 8 30 32 More Iowa, N 806 9 9 41 48 More Texas, W 800 54 10 2 2 More Table 3. Top 10 Districts (per ten million people)
The Northern District of West Virginia (Wheeling) — with 2965 prosecutions as compared with 308.4 prosecutions per ten million population in the United States — was the most active during June 2026.
The Southern District of California (San Diego) ranked 2nd. The Southern District of California (San Diego) was ranked 1 a year ago, while it was ranked 1 for most frequent use five years ago.
District of Vermont is now ranking 3rd.
Recent entrants to the top 10 list were Eastern District of Kentucky (Lexington), now ranked 6th , and Western District of New York (Buffalo) at 8th In the same order, these districts ranked 20th and 30th one year ago and 26th and 32nd five years ago.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth in the rate of narcotics/drugs prosecutions compared to one year ago — 131.8 percent — was Washington, D.C. (Washington). Compared to five years ago, the district with the largest growth — 46.8 percent — was Northern District of West Virginia (Wheeling).
In the last year, the judicial District Court recording the largest drop in the rate of narcotics/drugs prosecutions — 59.2 percent — was Southern District of Alabama (Mobile). But over the past five years, Southern District of California (San Diego) showed the largest drop — 73.3 percent.
Top Ranked District Judges
At any one time, there are about 680 federal District Court judges working in the United States. The judges recorded with the largest number of new narcotics/drugs crime cases of this type during June 2026 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank Schydlower, Leon Texas, W 15 1 More Newman, Michael J. Ohio, S 13 2 More Vilardo, Lawrence Joseph N. Y., W 12 3 More Pittman, Mark Timothy Texas, N 11 4 More Counts, Walter David, III Texas, W 11 4 More Jennings, Rebecca Grady Ken, W 10 6 More Mazzant, Amos L. Texas, E 10 6 More Barber, Thomas Patrick Fla, M 9 8 More Olvera, Jose Rolando, Jr. Texas, S 9 8 More Bencivengo, Cathy Ann Cal, S 7 10 More Rose, Thomas M. Ohio, S 7 10 More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
A total of 4 out of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of narcotics/drugs filings per capita, while the remaining 7 judges were from other districts. (Because of ties, there were a total of 11 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge Leon Schydlower in the Western District of Texas (San Antonio) ranked 1st with 15 defendants in narcotics/drugs cases.
Judge Michael J. Newman in the Southern District of Ohio (Cincinnati) ranked 2nd with 13 defendants in narcotics/drugs cases.
Judge Lawrence Joseph Vilardo in the Western District of New York (Buffalo) ranked 3rd with 12 defendants in narcotics/drugs cases.
Report Generated: August 12, 2026
