ICE probe yields drug trafficking indictments

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) led investigation has resulted in 11 individuals facing federal drug charges in multiple indictments.

Officials said the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics joined in the effort, which targeted a large, multi-state drug trafficking organization based in Mississippi, from an extensive Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation dubbed Operation Highlife.

“Methamphetamine has devastated countless communities due to the dramatic health and public safety consequences that typically accompany its introduction into an area,” Jere T. Miles, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans, said. “This operation is a testament to the seamless partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement, which HSI sincerely appreciates in the combined effort to improve the lives of law-abiding residents throughout Mississippi and Alabama.”

The Mississippi-based drug trafficking organization is charged with distributing more than 40 kilograms of methamphetamine, more than 3 kilograms of cocaine and over 100 pounds of marijuana illegally smuggled into the United States from Mexico across numerous states to include Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, and California.

“Illegal drugs are killing our youth, destroying families, and fueling violent crime across our state and our country,” Mike Hurst, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, which is prosecuting the case, said. “I commend our federal, state and local law enforcement officers for coming together to take down this criminal element plaguing our communities. Because of this work, our streets, neighborhoods, and citizens in East Central Mississippi are safer today.”