Second DHS agent in Utah arrested on suspicion of selling illegal drugs and seized as evidence

A second Department of Homeland Security agent in Utah has been arrested and charged in federal court with using a confidential informant to sell illegal drugs that were seized as evidence.

Nicholas Kindle, a special agent investigating illegal drug trafficking, was arrested three weeks after his alleged co-conspirator, agent David Cole. Both men were charged with felony drug distribution conspiracy, and Kindle also faces charges of conspiring to convert U.S. government property into profit.

The judge set Kindle’s first court appearance in Salt Lake City on January 21. If convicted, he could face up to 25 years in prison.

Cole was indicted by a grand jury last month, but Jindal was formally charged in an information filing by the U.S. Attorney’s Office that does not require grand jury approval to initiate criminal proceedings.

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Cole has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to distribute drugs and is scheduled to go on trial on February 24.

Kindle and Cole’s homeland security credentials were suspended, but they were not fired.

Prosecutors allege Jindel 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 they would use them These drugs are investigated legally.

The two allegedly began stealing drugs from evidence and lying to other agents about the reasons for collecting drugs in 2021. antique.

Nicholas Kindle, a special agent investigating illegal drug trafficking, was arrested three weeks after his alleged co-conspirator, agent David Cole. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsiva)

Between 2022 and 2024, Kindle and Cole allegedly sold the drugs to a person named in court documents solely as a “source of information” to the department where they allowed the drugs to be resold, and they did not arrest the customers.

The FBI said it made between $195,000 and $300,000 through the scheme.

Two agents later allegedly forced a recruited confidential informant to make controlled purchases from suspected dealers after he was released from prison and serve as the new middleman.

According to the FBI testimony, Kindle and Cole used encrypted messaging apps to provide the informant with meeting locations, which included a Panera Bread restaurant and a Nike store.

The FBI launched the investigation in October 2024 after the whistleblower’s attorney contacted the U.S. attorney in Utah and said Kindle and Cole asked him to participate in potentially illegal conduct, according to the affidavit.

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Kindle and Cole’s homeland security credentials were suspended, but they were not fired. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

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Investigators began tracking the agents and documented eight incidents of illegal drug sales to informants.

In one case, the informant gave the FBI a plastic foam cup that contained a granular substance that tested positive for drugs. The tipster said the agents left the cup in a trash can in the parking lot.

Synthetic bath salts, also known as Alpha-PVP or cathinones, are considered similar to methamphetamine, cocaine or ecstasy and have nothing to do with actual bath products.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.