SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A second Department of Homeland Security agent has been charged in federal court with using a confidential informant to sell illegal drugs that were seized as evidence.
Nicholas Kindle, a Utah special agent who investigated illegal drug trafficking, was arrested three weeks after his alleged co-conspirator, David Cole. Both men face felony charges of conspiracy to distribute drugs, and Kindle faces another charge of conspiracy to convert U.S. government property into profit.
On Thursday, a judge set Kindle’s first court appearance in Salt Lake City on January 21. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison.
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Kindle’s attorney has not yet been listed in court records.
Unlike Cole, who was indicted by a grand jury last month, Kindle was formally charged in an information filing from the U.S. Attorney’s Office that does not require grand jury approval to initiate criminal proceedings.
Federal prosecutors said Jindal and Cole abused their authority by obtaining illegal drugs known as “bath salts” from Department of Homeland Security evidence and other law enforcement agents, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, and falsely claiming that they These drugs will be used to conduct legitimate investigations.
Prosecutors said Kindle and Cole began stealing drugs from evidence in 2021 and lying about their purpose to other agents.
From 2022 to 2024, agents allegedly sold drugs to a person named in court documents solely as a “source of information” for the department’s prosecutors. They told the man to resell the drugs but did not arrest the customer, according to charging documents.
The FBI said the scheme brought in between $195,000 and $300,000.
The agents later allegedly coerced a recruited confidential informant to become the new middleman by making controlled purchases from suspected dealers after he was released from prison.
According to the FBI testimony, Kindle and Cole used encrypted messaging apps to provide informants with meeting locations ranging from a Panera Bread restaurant to a Nike store.
The FBI began investigating in October 2024 after the whistleblower’s attorney contacted the U.S. attorney in Utah to report that Kindle and Cole asked him to engage in potentially illegal conduct, according to the affidavit. Investigators began tracking them and documented eight illegal drug sales to the informants.
In one instance, authorities said, an informant handed the FBI a plastic foam cup that contained a particulate substance that tested positive for drugs. Agents left it in a trash can in the parking lot, he said.
According to authorities, ingesting synthetic bath salts (also known as Alpha-PVP or cathinones) may cause bizarre behaviors such as paranoia and extreme strength. The drug is said to be similar to methamphetamine, cocaine or ecstasy and has nothing to do with the actual bath product.
Jindal and Cole’s DHS credentials were suspended but were not fired, according to court documents.
Cole has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to distribute drugs and is scheduled to go on trial the week of February 24.
