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- A Homeland Security agent in Utah is facing a federal drug charge.
- David Cole and an unnamed agent are accused of profiting from unauthorized drug sales involving an informant.
- The FBI estimates the two "profited approximately $150,000 to $300,000 in illegal proceeds."
SALT LAKE CITY — A special agent with the Department of Homeland Security in Utah is facing a federal charge accusing him of providing drugs to an informant to sell on the side that were not part of any government investigation.
A 27-page criminal complaint was filed Friday and unsealed Monday against David Cole for conspiracy to distribute and possess drugs with intent to distribute. The federal complaint also lists a "person A" as a possible co-defendant and states that Cole "conspired with person A and others."
"Cole and person A have had their Homeland Security credentials suspended but have not been terminated," court documents state.
The investigation began in October when the attorney for a man who had been working as a confidential informant for the Department of Homeland Security contacted the U.S. Attorney's Office in Salt Lake City because the informant believed Cole was making him engage in unlawful acts, according to the complaint.
The informant had been working with the agents performing "controlled buys" from suspected drug dealers as part of official drug trafficking investigations. But starting in the spring, the informant says he was "required" to pay Cole and person A $5,000 in exchange for bath salts which he could then sell on the street for about $10,000 and keep the money, the complaint alleges.
"According to (the informant), Cole and person A never arrested any of the individuals to whom (the informant) sold the bath salts, nor did Cole and person A provide (the informant) with recording devices or other equipment to aid in gathering evidence of those involved in the illegal drug purchases," according to the complaint.
FBI agents met with the informant in October and "began an operation to corroborate (the informant's) allegations." Agents had the informant conduct five controlled drug buys with Cole and three with person A, the complaint states, and kept surveillance on the two men and bath salts being distributed, the complaint says.
Last week, the FBI served search warrants on Cole and person A's residences, government issued vehicles and phones, their cubicles at work and a safety deposit box.
"During the searches, agents seized substances that appeared to be bath salts, more than $67,000 in cash and other evidence," the complaint states. "Based on an average of one or two drug buys per week, involving 25 grams of bath salts and the amount of $5,000 each buy, it is estimated that Cole and person A have profited approximately $150,000 to $300,000 in illegal proceeds."
