Federal authorities have indicted 20 people, including 14 current and former law enforcement officers from the Mississippi Delta region, for allegedly working with drug cartels to smuggle narcotics across state lines in exchange for cash bribes.
The scheme, described by U.S. Attorney Brad Schlozman as a "monumental betrayal of public trust," involved providing armed escorts for cartel shipments through rural Mississippi and into Memphis, Tennessee.
Among those charged are two sheriffs – Washington County Sheriff Douglas Barnes and Sunflower County Sheriff Mark Robinson – along with deputies and police chiefs who pocketed more than $30,000 in total bribes, according to court documents.
From the indictment:
Officers and accomplices allegedly agreed to "provide safe passage" for drug loads traveling north through the Delta, to Memphis.
In return, they received payments ranging from $500 to $5,000 per run, with the scheme active from at least late 2023 through mid-2025.
Defendants face federal counts for using official vehicles and firearms to protect shipments, including violations of laws prohibiting the discharge of weapons in furtherance of drug trafficking.
Officers and accomplices allegedly agreed to "provide safe passage" for drug loads traveling north through the Delta, to Memphis.
In return, they received payments ranging from $500 to $5,000 per run, with the scheme active from at least late 2023 through mid-2025.
Defendants face federal counts for using official vehicles and firearms to protect shipments, including violations of laws prohibiting the discharge of weapons in furtherance of drug trafficking.
One specific run involved a convoy of marked police cruisers escorting a tractor-trailer suspected of carrying fentanyl and methamphetamine.
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