A Total of 14 Police Officers Including Twenty Individuals Apprehended in the State of Mississippi Narcotics Corruption Operation
A group of 14 serving and previous police personnel are among 20 defendants arrested in Mississippi and Tennessee for taking illicit payments from narcotics dealers in exchange for police protection, in what authorities labeled "a monumental betrayal of the community's confidence".
These apprehensions come after a multi-year probe 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 real narcotics criminals about being forced to provide corrupt payments to police members.
This corruption scheme reportedly reached outside the Mississippi Delta region into the city of Memphis in Tennessee, and Miami in Florida.
"Initial reports that started the inquiry were from narcotics traffickers," a U.S. attorney stated during a news conference on Thursday.
Some of the officers had received illicit payments ranging from $20,000 (£15,000) and $37,000, the legal official noted.
This operation utilized covert national officers acting as narcotics sellers with simulated drugs, which the defendants allegedly believed to be 25kg (55lb) of the illegal substance.
"They sold out the public," stated a senior FBI official. "They violated the trust that the public placed in them, shamed the badge and weakened the efforts of honest police members across this state and region."
These detentions take place as American authorities have begun aerial attacks in South America against alleged drug traffickers.
