Drug investigation nets 27 arrests in one Mississippi county Friday
Published 6:05 am Sunday, May 16, 2021
Twenty-seven people were arrested in one Mississippi county Friday as part of a multi-year investigation targeting the trafficking of large amounts of methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana.
The arrests followed a multi-year investigation by Homeland Security Investigations New Orleans, dubbed Operation High Life. The HSI-led investigation is the result of ongoing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) efforts, a partnership that brings together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
“This operation protects our children and those in our communities from dangerous, destructive, and deadly drugs and from the violence that comes with these criminal enterprises,” said Attorney General Lynn Fitch.
OCDETF brings together federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
“This investigation is about more than disrupting the flow of drugs being trafficked into and around our communities; it’s also about removing violent criminal elements that often accompany transnational criminal activities,” said HSI New Orleans acting Special Agent in Charge Jack Staton.
The defendants charged include:
- Jamie Abel
- John Netherland
- Marquail Finley
- Jason Hatton
- Mike Lee
- John Harvey
- Nikki Landrum
- Angela Singleton
- Tomas ‘TJ’ Wilkerson
- Dusty Cain
- Barco Davis
- Donamecia Carter
- Darrell Purfoy
- Mikey Warren
- Parish Clark
- Jason Tucker
- Robert Germany
- Michael Bryant
- Richard Chat Cumberland
- Jessica Jones
- Brandon Clark
- James Germany
- Edwin Malone
- Malissa Williamson
- Robert “Rob” Donald
- Roventaey Peden
- Considered fugitives:
- Shaun Dougherty
- Dexter MaGee
- Caleb Smith
- Martin Lowery
- Christopher Donald
- Mahogany Clemons
- Jacoby Lewis
- Timothy Steward
- Jaedeius “Dee” Peebles
- Entony Burnside
Prior to this arrest, the department said the investigation resulted in 38 state and federal convictions and the seizure of 85 pounds of methamphetamine, 5 kilograms of cocaine, 270 pounds of marijuana, 300 dosage units of fentanyl, and 16 firearms. The most recent conviction occurred Wednesday, with the sentencing of Landon Marquale Dupree, 35, of Philadelphia, Mississippi.
