Federal authorities announced indictments against 20 people on Thursday, including 14 current or former Mississippi Delta law enforcement officers, that allege the officers took bribes to provide safe passage to people they believed were drug traffickers. The yearslong investigation swept across multiple counties in the Mississippi Delta region of Mississippi and Tennessee. Two Mississippi sheriffs, Washington County Sheriff Milton Gaston and Humphreys County Sheriff Bruce Williams, were among those arrested, the AP reports. Some bribes were as large as $20,000 and $37,000, authorities said at a news conference. "It's just a monumental betrayal of public trust," US Attorney Clay Joyner said at a news conference.
One of the indictments, which charges 15 people, says that law enforcement officers provided armed escort services on multiple occasions to an FBI agent posing as a member of a Mexican drug cartel. The indictment alleges the officers understood they were transporting 55 pounds of cocaine through Mississippi Delta counties and into Memphis. The officers also provided escort services to protect the transportation of drug proceeds. Gaston and Williams are accused of receiving bribes in exchange for giving the operations their "blessing," the indictment says. It adds that Gaston attempted to disguise the payments as campaign contributions but did not report them as required by law.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said in a statement that he was disappointed to learn of the allegations. "The law must apply equally to everyone regardless of the title or position they hold," he wrote. "Know that if you betray the people's trust in Mississippi, you will face consequences." Sunflower County Sheriff James Haywood in Mississippi confirmed the arrest of a deputy, Marvin Flowers, on Thursday morning. Haywood said Flowers has worked for the department for 13 years.
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