The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested 20 people for their alleged involvement in drug trafficking in the Mississippi Delta, including 14 police officers.

The defendants were arrested by law enforcement in various operations in the Northern District of Mississippi, and some of them were carrying weapons. of firearms.

The investigation and alleged police corruption spanned several Delta counties and extended to Memphis, Tennessee, where some officers allegedly accepted bribes in exchange for protecting undercover FBI agents posing as members of a Mexican drug cartel.

On three occasions between 2023 and 2024, officers escorted undercover agents transporting cocaine through rural Delta on US Highway 61 to Memphis, according to court records.

Some bribes ranged from $20,000 to $37,000, authorities said at a news conference.

Of the 20 people charged, 19 face charges of illegal possession of firearms in connection with a drug trafficking offense. The charges, detailed in several indictments, describe an operation that spanned from patrol officers to police chiefs and marshals. The indictments represent a “monumental betrayal of the public trust,” stated Clay Joyner, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi. The FBI detailed that if the officers are found guilty, they could receive aggravated sentences if the federal judge presiding over the case deems it appropriate. Among those arrested are also two county sheriffs, who allegedly collaborated with traffickers in several operations, including providing armed escort during cocaine shipments overseen by an undercover FBI agent. In addition to the drug trafficking charges, nineteen of the defendants face federal charges for violating weapons laws by possessing firearms in connection with drug trafficking activities.Authorities indicated that investigations are ongoing to determine the full extent of the corruption and trafficking network in the region, and further arrests are possible as the legal process progresses. Andrew Bailey, co-deputy director of the FBI, stated that the corruption permeated “multiple counties and multiple jurisdictions in the state of Mississippi and beyond.” “They dishonored the badge and undermined the hard work of law enforcement officers across the state and throughout the region,” Bailey said.