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The second Department of National Security agent in Utah was arrested and indicted in federal court on charges of using a confidential informant to sell illegal drugs seized as evidence.
Nicholas Kindle, a special agent in the narcotics investigation, was arrested three weeks after the arrest of his alleged accomplice, Special Agent David Cole. Both men are charged with criminal conspiracy to distribute drugs, and Kindle also faces charges of conspiracy to convert US government property for profit.
A judge scheduled Kindle’s first court appearance for Jan. 21 in Salt Lake City. If convicted, he could face up to 25 years in prison.
Cole was indicted last month by a grand jury, but Kindle was official charge in a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which does not require the approval of a grand jury to bring a criminal case.
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A second Department of Homeland Security agent in Utah has been charged with using a confidential informant to sell illegal drugs from evidence. (iStock)
Cole pleaded not guilty to a charge of conspiracy to distribute drugs and will stand trial starting on February 24. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
Kindle and Cole had their Homeland Security clearances suspended but not fired.
Prosecutors accuse Kindle and Cole of abusing their positions to procure illegal drugs known as “bath salts” from Homeland Security evidence and from other law enforcement officials, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, by falsely stating that they would use drugs for legitimate investigations.
The pair allegedly began stealing drugs from evidence and lying to fellow agents about their reasons for collecting them in 2021. Kindle and Cole also allegedly stole thousands of dollars in cash, a diamond ring and a Peruvian antique from evidence.
Nicholas Kindle, a special agent in the narcotics investigation, was arrested three weeks after the arrest of his alleged accomplice, Special Agent David Cole. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Between 2022 and 2024 Kindle and Cole allegedly sold drugs to a person named in court documents only as a “source of information” for the department, who they allowed to resell the drugs, and they did not arrest the customers.
The FBI alleges that between $195,000 and $300,000 was made through the scheme.
The two agents allegedly later forced a confidential informant recruited to make controlled purchases from suspected dealers after he was released from prison to assume the role of the new middleman.
Kindle and Cole used an encrypted messaging app to provide informants with information about meeting locations, including a Panera Bread restaurant and a Nike store, according to an FBI affidavit.
The FBI began investigating in October 2024 after the whistleblower’s attorney contacted the U.S. attorney in Utah and said Kindle and Cole were seeking his involvement in potentially illegal activities, the affidavit said.
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Kindle and Cole had their National Security clearances suspended but were not fired. (Photo by Samuel Korum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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Investigators began tracking agents and recorded eight cases of illegal drug sales by informants.
In one case, an informant gave the FBI a styrofoam plastic cup with a granular substance inside that tested positive for drugs. The informant said agents left a cup for him in a trash can in the parking lot.
Synthetic bath salts, also known as alpha-PVP or cathinone, are believed to be similar to methamphetamine, cocaine, or ecstasy and unrelated to real bath products.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
