The Hill News

The FBI arrested nearly 90 police officers in Puerto Rico on Wednesday for what the department says is its largest police corruption bust ever.

A total of 133 people were charged, including 44 non-law enforcement civilians, in more than two-dozen unsealed indictments that spanned two years of investigations. Two U.S. Army officers and three Puerto Rico National Guard soldiers were also among those charged by the FBI.
 
The FBI alleges that it had an undercover agent pose as a drug dealer and pay dozens of cops thousands of dollars for providing them with armed protection during large-scale cocaine sales. The FBI says it doled out more than $500,000 in protection payments during the course of the nearly 125 undercover transactions.

The charges range from possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute to the use of a firearm during the commission of a drug trafficking offense.

“This department has one message for anyone wil! ling to abuse the public trust for personal gain: you will be caught, you will be stopped and you will be punished,” said Attorney General Eric Holder in a statement following the arrests on Wednesday.

Nearly 750 FBI personnel from 50 of the department’s 56 field offices flew into Puerto Rico to participate in the bust, which began at 3 a.m. on Wednesday morning and has resulted in the arrest of all but four of those indicted, according to the FBI.

The FBI says that 60 of those indicted worked in the Puerto Rico police department, 16 were from municipal police departments, and 12 officers were allegedly employed by the Puerto Rico Corrections Department.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. If convicted of the charges brought against them, the defendants could face prison sentences ranging from 10 years to life.