Second Homeland Security agent in Utah charged with selling illicit drugs from evidence

[January 03, 2025]  By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A second Department of Homeland Security agent has been charged in federal court with using a confidential informant to sell illicit drugs that were seized as evidence.

Nicholas Kindle, a special agent in Utah tasked with investigating illegal narcotics trafficking, was arrested three weeks after his alleged co-conspirator, special agent David Cole. Both face a felony drug distribution conspiracy charge, and Kindle faces an additional charge of conspiracy to convert property of the U.S. government for profit.

On Thursday a magistrate judge set Kindle's initial court appearance for Jan. 21 in Salt Lake City. If convicted he faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.

An attorney has not yet been listed for Kindle in court records.

Unlike Cole, who was indicted last month by a grand jury, Kindle was formally charged in an information document from the U.S. Attorney's Office, which does not require grand jury approval to initiate criminal proceedings.

Federal prosecutors say Kindle and Cole abused their positions to acquire illegal drugs known as “bath salts” from Homeland Security evidence and from other law enforcement personnel, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, under the false pretense that they would use them for legitimate investigations.

Prosecutors say Kindle and Cole began stealing drugs from evidence and lying to fellow agents about their purpose in 2021. They are also alleged to have stolen thousands of dollars in cash, a diamond ring and a Peruvian antiquity from evidence.

From 2022 to 2024, the agents allegedly sold the drugs to a person identified in court documents only as a “source of information” for the department, prosecutors. They let that person resell the drugs and did not arrest the customers, according to charging documents.

The FBI says the scheme brought in between $195,000 and $300,000.

The agents later are said to have compelled a confidential informant recruited to conduct controlled buys from suspected dealers after his release from prison to become the new middleman.

Kindle and Cole used an encrypted messaging app to give the informant meeting locations, which ranged from a Panera Bread restaurant to a Nike store, according to an FBI affidavit.

The FBI began investigating in October 2024 after the informant's lawyer contacted the U.S. Attorney in Utah to report that Kindle and Cole had required him to engage in potentially unlawful acts, according to the affidavit. Investigators began tracking them and recorded eight transactions in which drugs were illegally sold to the informant.

On one occasion, authorities say, the informant handed over to the FBI a plastic foam cup containing a granular substance that tested positive for drugs. He said the agents left it for him in a parking lot trash can.

Ingestion of synthetic bath salts, also known as Alpha-PVP or cathinone, can lead to bizarre behavior such as paranoia and extreme strength, according to authorities. The drug is said to be similar to methamphetamine, cocaine or ecstasy, and is unrelated to actual bath products.

Kindle and Cole had their Homeland Security credentials suspended but have not been fired, according to court documents.

Cole has pleaded not guilty to his drug distribution conspiracy charge and will stand trial the week of Feb. 24. He faces a maximum of 20 years if convicted.

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