Fourteen Police Officers Including Twenty Individuals Apprehended in Mississippi Narcotics Corruption Operation
A group of 14 serving and previous law-enforcement officers are among 20 defendants arrested in the states of Mississippi and Tennessee for accepting bribes from narcotics dealers in exchange for law enforcement cover, in what officials described as "a monumental betrayal of public trust".
These apprehensions come after a years-long investigation by national law enforcement who posed as narcotics dealers. Among those charged were county sheriffs from Mississippi.
National authorities initiated the undercover operation after receiving complaints from actual narcotics criminals about being forced to provide bribes to officers.
The bribery network allegedly extended outside the Delta area of Mississippi into Memphis, Tennessee, and Miami in Florida.
"The original complaints that began the investigation were from drug dealers," a federal prosecutor stated during a press briefing on Thursday.
Some of the officers had received illicit payments ranging from $20,000 (£15,000) and $37,000, the prosecutor added.
The sting involved undercover federal agents acting as narcotics sellers with fake narcotics, which the accused individuals reportedly thought to be 25 kilograms (55 pounds) of cocaine.
"They sold out the community," stated a high-ranking federal agent. "They violated the trust that the people had in them, disgraced the badge and undermined the efforts of good law enforcement officers across this state and region."
These detentions take place as U.S. officials have embarked on aerial attacks in the southern continent against alleged drug traffickers.
