By Police1 Staff
TANGIPAHOA, La. — The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Hammond Police Department were raided Thursday by the FBI in connection with a DOJ investigation of a federal task force.
According to the New Orleans Advocate, the FBI took computers, cell phones and case files.
The DEA task force is under investigation after allegedly stealing cash from drug dealers, selling confiscated narcotics and tampering with witnesses, the publication reported.
The buildings were shut down for hours as agents searched the facility and conducted interviews.
“They’re basically treating these buildings like crime scenes,” an unnamed official told the publication.
The FBI, along with the DEA’s Office of Professional Responsibility and the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General, are concerned about the lack of oversight within the New Orleans field division of the DEA.
Two former task force members who worked for the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office are facing federal charges.