Ten Multi-Pound Level Methamphetamine Distributors in Northeast Arkansas in Custody Following Arrest Operation

      JONESBORO—Ten out of 11 defendants indicted on charges of distributing large amounts of methamphetamine and conspiracy in northeast Arkansas are in custody after federal and state authorities made a series of arrests this morning as part of an ongoing drug-trafficking investigation. Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Alicia D. Corder, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Little Rock Field Office, announced today’s arrests. Five additional defendants have been indicted who were already in custody.

      The arrests stem from an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, or OCDETF, investigation that began in January 2024 targeting multi-pound level dealers of methamphetamine in the northeast Arkansas area. The defendants listed in the indictments hail from Jonesboro, Blytheville, Osceola, Luxora, Manilla, and Trumann. The investigation, which was headed by the FBI, involved numerous controlled purchases of pounds of methamphetamine from members of four different conspiracies, as well as from individual distributors. According to information learned throughout the investigation, it is believed that these defendants have collectively trafficked more than 100 pounds of methamphetamine to people in Arkansas.

      Additionally, during an investigation into one of the conspiracies, law enforcement agents intercepted numerous phone calls in which the conspiracy members discussed trafficking methamphetamine.

      “Methamphetamine continues to be the most abused drug across Arkansas. According to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory, 55% of our state’s 393 known overdose deaths in 2024 involved meth,” Ross said. “As such, our office and law enforcement partners will continue to prioritize investigations involving methamphetamine, as well as the other leading substances causing drug overdose deaths in Arkansas including cocaine, opioids, and fentanyl. We are especially grateful for the countless hours and dedicated hard work by the FBI, and our state, local, and additional federal law enforcement partners that investigated this case and led to today’s successful arrest operation. The citizens of Arkansas should know that these men and women work stoically day in and day out to protect the safety of our state and that they do so without concern for recognition, which I give today because we are all safer due to their commitment to public safety – the number one priority of law enforcement. So I say THANK YOU to everyone who played a role in this operation. We are grateful for you.”

      “FBI Little Rock, in partnership with our federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, remains resolute in our mission to protect Arkansans by crushing violent crime and dismantling networks that traffic dangerous narcotics,” SAC Corder said. “We are proactively targeting violent offenders, drug trafficking organizations, and criminal enterprises to safeguard our communities and uphold public safety.”

      This initiative is part of “SUMMER HEAT,” the FBI’s nationwide initiative targeting violent crime during the summer months. As part of this effort, the FBI has launched a multi-pronged offensive to crush violent crime. By surging resources alongside state and local partners, executing federal warrants on violent criminals and fugitives, and dismantling violent gangs nationwide, the FBI seeks to aggressively restore safety in communities across the country.

      This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.   

      Those arrested today will be arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge Benecia B. Moore on Thursday. Today’s arrests are the result of an investigation headed by the FBI, and assisted by the Department of Homeland Security, the Second Judicial Drug Task Force, the Jonesboro Police Department, the Craighead County Sheriff’s Office, the Poinsett County Sheriff’s Office, the Trumann Police Department, the Blytheville Police Department, the Osceola Police Department, the Mississippi County Sheriff’s Office, the West Memphis Police Department, the Marion Police Department, the Arkansas State Police, and the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force.

      The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Erin O’Leary.

      All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Additional information about the office of the

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at

https://www.justice.gov/edar

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