Five police officers are among 51 persons   arrested in a drug trafficking bust in the Helena-West Helena, Arkansas area. The five officers were,Herman Eaton, Winston Dean Jackson, Marlene Kalb, Robert Rogers and Robert Wahls.
More than 800 personnel from  the United States Attorney, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Internal Revenue Service and the Arkansas State Police have been involved.
Law enforcement personnel from the FBI, DEA, IRS, ATF, ASP, Arkansas National Guard and the Little Rock Police Department and West Memphis Police Department participated in the arrests today.
One agent was shot while serving warrants, and he is hospitalized with injuries that are not life-threatening, authorities said.

The arrests come after a major four-year investigation into corruption in eastern Arkansas.
Crack, cocaine and marijuana are among the drugs reportedly being trafficked.
The charges include public corruption, drug trafficking, money laundering, and firearms offenses.
The five officers arrested helped the traffickers move the drugs around.

Police are still looking for 14 fugitives at this time.
A two-year investigation, called Operation Delta Blues, focused on public corruption, drug trafficking and money laundering in the Helena-West Helena and Marianna, Arkansas, areas, authorities said. Investigators used 16 court-authorized wiretaps in their investigation, officials said.

“Today’s indictments and arrests are merely the beginning. We believe there are more cases of corruption, and we intend to press forward with our investigation to weed out those who would sacrifice their oath and violate the public’s trust,” said Valerie Parlave, special agent in charge of the Little Rock field office for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“Several of those indicted today are no strangers to law enforcement. Many have been charged in state court with some of the serious class (of) felonies, including murder,” Parlave continued. “Yet they remain free today. As our investigation moves forward, we continue to find instances where these violent felonies were never completely prosecuted and some of the most serious charges were dropped.”

Several charges are expected to be filed . Those include:
Conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and more than 280 grams of crack cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 carries a possible punishment of no less than ten years and up to life imprisonment and a fine of up to $10 million.
Conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 carries a possible punishment of no less than five and up to forty years imprisonment and a fine of up to $5 million.
Distribution and possession with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and more than 280 grams of crack cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) carries a possible punishment of no less than ten years and up to life imprisonment and a fine of up to $10 million.

Distribution and possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine and more than 28 grams of crack cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) carries a possible punishment of no less than five and up to forty years imprisonment and a fine of up to $5 million.
Distribution and possession with intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine less than 500 grams or quantity of crack cocaine less than 28 grams in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) carries a penalty of not more than twenty years imprisonment, and a fine of up to $1 million. An attempt to commit these crimes carries the same penalties.
The use of a communication facility (telephone) in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 843(b) carries a possible punishment of up to four years imprisonment and up to a $250,000 fine.
Maintaining a drug-involved premises in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 856 carries a possible punishment of up to twenty years imprisonment, and up to a $500,000 fine.
Distribution or manufacturing of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 860 carries a possible punishment of up to life imprisonment, and up to a $20 million fine.

The possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) carries a possible punishment of no less than five years and up to life imprisonment, and up to a $250,000 fine.
Possession of a firearm by a felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), and disposing of a firearm to a felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(d), carry a possible punishment of not more than ten years imprisonment, and up to a $250,000 fine.
An attempted violation of the Hobbs Act in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a) carries a possible punishment of not more than 20 years imprisonment and up to a $250,000 fine.
Money laundering in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(3)(A) carries a possible punishment of not more than 20 years imprisonment and up to a $250,000 fine.
Misprision of a felony carries a possible punishment of not more than three years imprisonment and up to a $250,000 fine.

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