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 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 one felony count of conspiracy to distribute drugs, and Kindle faces an additional count of conspiracy to convert U.S. government property 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 sentence of 25 years in prison.
An attorney has not yet been listed by Kindle in court records.
Unlike Cole, who was indicted last month by a grand jury, Kindle was formally indicted in a brief from the US 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 evidence from Homeland Security and other law enforcement officials, including agents from Customs and US Border Protection, 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 other agents about their purpose in 2021. They also allegedly stole thousands of dollars in cash, a diamond ring and a Peruvian antique of the tests.
From 2022 to 2024, agents allegedly sold the drug to a person identified in court documents only as a “source of information” for the department, prosecutors said. They let that person resell the drug and didn’t arrest the customers, according to charging documents.
Cole and Kindle “sold bath salts to HSI’s confidential human sources for thousands of dollars and allowed those sources to resell the bath salts on the streets of Utah for a profit,” prosecutors said. allege. The FBI says the scheme netted between $195,000 and $300,000.
Later, agents are said to have forced a recruited confidential informant to make controlled purchases from suspected dealers after his release from prison to become the new middleman.
According to an FBI affidavit, Kindle and Cole used an encrypted messaging app to give the informant meeting places, which ranged 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 had required him to participate in potentially illegal acts. ·legal, 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 gave the FBI a plastic foam cup containing a granular substance that tested positive for drugs. He said the officers left him in a trash can in the parking lot.
Ingestion of synthetic bath salts, also known as Alpha-PVP or cathinone, can cause strange 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.
Also known as flakka or gravel, Alpha-PVP is typically white or pink, and can be eaten, snorted, injected, or vaporized in e-cigarettes. according to the DEA.
Kindle and Cole had their national security credentials suspended but have not been fired, according to court documents.
Cole has pleaded not guilty to his charge of conspiracy to distribute drugs and will be arraigned the week of February 24. He faces a maximum of 20 years if convicted.
“A drug dealer who wears a badge is still a drug dealer, and one who has violated an oath to uphold the law and protect the public,” Senior Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri said in a statement after Cole was charged.