[Guest]

:sb: MARK SHERMAN
Associated Press


WASHINGTON (AP) -- FBI agents posing as cocaine traffickers in Arizona caught 16 current and former U.S. soldiers and law enforcement personnel who took payoffs to help move the drugs through checkpoints, Justice Department officials said Thursday.

Those charged include a former Immigration and Naturalization Service inspector, a former Army sergeant, a former federal prison guard, current and former members of the Arizona Air National Guard and the state corrections department, and a Nogales, Ariz., police officer, officials said.

All 16 have agreed to plead guilty to being part of a bribery and extortion conspiracy, the result of the nearly 4½-year FBI sting, acting assistant attorney general John C. Richter and FBI agent Jana D. Monroe said.

The FBI set up the phony trafficking organization in December 2001, then lured military and police personnel with money to help distribute the cocaine or allow it to pass through checkpoints they were guarding, officials said.

 

[mpd61]

:

The FBI set up the phony trafficking organization in December 2001, then lured military and police personnel with money to help distribute the cocaine or allow it to pass through checkpoints they were guarding, officials said.

Only one cop out of 16 persons involved? 4.5 year sting? Glad the FBI is so well focused on setting up such Ops two months post 9/11. I know this stuff is important but it really ain't such a big deal in my book
:roll:

 

[EOD1]

:

The FBI set up the phony trafficking organization in December 2001, then lured military and police personnel with money to help distribute the cocaine or allow it to pass through checkpoints they were guarding, officials said.

Only one cop out of 16 persons involved? 4.5 year sting? Glad the FBI is so well focused on setting up such Ops two months post 9/11. I know this stuff is important but it really ain't such a big deal in my book
:roll:

yeah i was thinking the same thing. seems like a lot of resources. Did the ends really justify the means?

 

[MVS]

Yeah, I could see spending a couple of months on it, but 4.5 years?! That's outrageous and a waste. 4.5 years and 16 people busted, an average of less than 4 per year... boy now thats some great productivity :shock:.. WTF?

 

[DVET1979]

16 busted for now, I bet they'll flip some of them and more names will surface. A rat will do anything it has to do to survive.

 

[PBC FL Cop]

Long-term investigations are exactly that. Some in-depth investigations take years to complete, its the nature of the beast. These type of invests are common with some Federal agencies, thats why some federal jobs are not for everyone. They're not easy investigations but getting drug dealing cops, co's and military personnel off the streets is never a waste of time.

 

[robodope]

Long-term investigations are exactly that. Some in-depth investigations take years to complete, its the nature of the beast. These type of invests are common with some Federal agencies, thats why some federal jobs are not for everyone. They're not easy investigations but getting drug dealing cops, co's and military personnel off the streets is never a waste of time.

Good Post!

 

[rhl]

They agreed to plead guity? That must mean they plea bargained for something less than they could have gotten. Why after so many years would you agree to a plea after spending all those resources on an invest. I know it's up to the courts at that point, but did they have court prosecutors in on this from the start? rhl