2 Mississippi sheriffs and 12 officers charged in drug trafficking bribery scheme, officials say

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Federal authorities on Thursday announced indictments against 20 people, 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.

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,” U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner said at a news conference.

The indictments say law enforcement officers provided armed escort services on multiple occasions to an FBI agent posing as a member of a Mexican drug cartel. The indictments allege the officers understood they were helping to transport 25 kilograms (55 pounds) of cocaine through Mississippi Delta counties and into Memphis. Some of the officers also provided escort services to protect the transportation of drug proceeds.

Gaston and Williams are alleged to have received bribes in exchange for giving the operations their “blessing,” one indictment said. It also alleged that Gaston attempted to disguise the payments as campaign contributions, but did not report them as required by law.

Federal officials said the investigation into the alleged crimes began when people who had been arrested complained about having to pay bribes to various individuals.

“Law enforcement is only effective when the community they protect can trust the law enforcement officers are honestly serving the community’s interests,” Robert Eikhoff, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Jackson Field Office, said. “This type of corruption strikes at the heart of the community.”

Nineteen of the 20 people indicted are also charged with violating federal gun laws.

Court records show that the federal defender’s office is representing 16 of the 20 people charged, including the two sheriffs. That office did not immediately respond to an after-hours email Thursday evening seeking comment on the charges.

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.”

Multiple Mississippi law enforcement agencies and sheriffs have faced federal scrutiny in recent years.

In 2024, the former Hinds County Sheriff Marshand Crisler was convicted of accepting $9,500 in bribes and knowingly providing ammunition to a convicted felon. The same year, former Noxubee County Sheriff Terry Grassaree pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI while being questioned about requesting and receiving nude photos from a female inmate.

William Brewer, a former Tallahatchie County sheriff, was sentenced to six years in prison in 2019 for extorting bribes from a drug dealer.

In 2023, six law enforcement officers pleaded guilty to state and federal charges for torturing two Black men, a case that sparked a Department of Justice investigation into the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office. A similar DOJ probe concluded last year that officers of the Lexington Police Department discriminated against Black people.

___ This version has been corrected to show that people from Mississippi and Tennessee were charged, not just people from Mississippi.

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Associated Press writer Kate Brumback in Atlanta contributed to this report.