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U.S. Attorney Scott Leary announced that law enforcement agencies came together in the Northern District of Mississippi to bring down a drug trafficking organization. Multiple offenders were arrested, 25 pounds of methamphetamine was seized, along with over 4,000 pills containing fentanyl.  

Photo taken from WTVA

A joint operation across the State of Mississippi led to 13 child exploitation arrests, 48 sex offender absconder arrests, two referrals to Louisiana and Colorado, one victim recovered, more than 8 search warrants, more than 50 devices seized for forensics and at least three immigration detainers. 

Prepare to see a series of significant fraud enforcement actions across the Southeastern United States. Recent cases involve $350 million in losses of SNAP benefits, Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, housing benefits and tax fraud. The Division separately announced the formation of federal-state anti-fraud tasks forces in Mississippi, along with North Carolina and Florida.

A Homeland Security Task Force Operation led to the sentencing of Dannie Thomas from Georgia. After a traffic stop, Thomas was found to be in possession of 50 kg of cocaine.

Christopher "Snow" Caffey of Grenada, MS, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute meth and fentanyl. He was sentenced to over 16 year in prison. He was a fugitive from justice and the U.S. Marshals apprehended him in California. 

Marvin Flowers was sentenced to over seven years in federal prison for conspiracy to aid and abet, and to attempt to aid and abet, the possession, transportation and distribution of illegal narcotics. At the time of the offense, Flowers received multiple bribes while being employed as a law enforcement officer with the Sunflower County Sheriff's Office. 

Christopher Douglas Showah, 51, of Indianola, was sentenced today to eight years after pleading guilty to three federal felonies.  

Earl BLUE, 48, from Greenwood, was sentenced to over 16 years after pleading guilty to robbing Regions Bank in Greenwood. 

Benjamin Wilkes, 31, a former kindergarten assistant, sought out images and videos of children as young as four-years old engaging in sexual conduct then stored those images and videos in a social media cloud for ease of access. Wilkes will serve twenty years in prison, ten years of supervised release and be required to register as a sex offender. 

A former Ruleville police officer was sentenced today to 7 years in prison for extortion under color of law. Antonio Wade, 37, previously pled guilty to extorting money from an illegal alien during a traffic stop. 

A federal jury convicted Yohannes Tekie Gebrezghi, 41, of Sacramento, California after a two-day trial in Oxford. Gebrezghi was convicted of firearms trafficking.

According to evidence produced at trial, Gebrezghi was stopped in New Albany by two Mississippi Highway Patrol officers. A search of his vehicle by the troopers uncovered 13 firearms, including pistols and AK-style rifles. The weapons were hidden in the vehicle’s door panels and hatch, along with ammunition, large-capacity magazines, and $16,000 in United States currency. Evidence at trial confirmed that Gebrezghi had travelled from

Martavis MOORE, 32, from Greenville was sentenced to over seven years after pleading guilty to conspiracy aid and abet, and to attempt to aid and abet, the possession, transportation and distribution of illegal narcotics. Moore was an officer with the Greenville Police Department when he accepted a bribe for assisting a drug dealer in transporting drugs through Greenville.