DOJ charges two Mississippi sheriffs and 12 officers in alleged bribery and drug trafficking scheme

An FBI sting operation has netted arrests of 20 people, including 14 current and former law enforcement officers from the Mississippi Delta. Among those arrested were Washington County Sheriff Milton Gaston and Humphreys County Sheriff Bruce Williams. The FBI mounted the operation after learning from individuals they had arrested that they had paid bribes to members of law enforcement.

An undercover FBI posing as a member of a Mexican cartel allegedly obtained officers’ services of officers to provide armed escorts for what officers believed were shipments of cocaine destined for Memphis. Several such operations took place over the years-long investigation.

Bribes allegedly ranged from a few thousand dollars to as much as $37,000. The two sheriffs allegedly took payments to allow the operations to go ahead. Gaston is accused of attempting to disguise his payments as campaign contributions.

Aside from the Humphreys and Washington County Sheriff’s department, the arrested officers were affiliated with 8 other Mississippi law enforcement agencies. They include: Mississippi Highway Patrol; Greenville, Hollandale and Metcalfe Police Departments (all in Washington Co.); Sunflower County Sheriff’s Department; Yazoo City Police Department; Bolivar County Sheriff’s Department; and the Greenwood Police Department (Leflore Co.).