A second Department of Homeland Security agent in Utah was arrested and charged in federal court with using a confidential informant to sell illicit drugs that were seized as evidence.
Nicholas Kindle, a special agent investigating illegal narcotics trafficking, was arrested three weeks after the arrest of his alleged accomplice, Special Agent David Cole. The two men are each charged with one felony count of conspiracy to distribute drugs, while Kindle also faces one count of conspiracy to convert U.S. government property for profit.
A judge set Kindle’s initial court appearance for Jan. 21 in Salt Lake Metropolis. He could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
Cole was indicted last month by a grand jury, but Kindle was indicted in a briefing document from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which does not require grand jury approval to initiate criminal proceedings.
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A second Department of Homeland Security agent in Utah has been charged with allegedly using a confidential informant to sell illicit drugs from evidence. (iStock)
Cole has pleaded not guilty to his charge of conspiracy to distribute drugs and will stand trial beginning February 24. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
Kindle and Cole had their Homeland Security credentials suspended, but have not been fired.
Prosecutors accuse Kindle and Cole of abusing their positions to acquire illegal drugs known as “gross bath salts” based on evidence from Homeland Security and other law enforcement personnel, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. US, falsely claiming they would use the drugs for legitimate research.
The pair allegedly began stealing drugs from evidence and lying to fellow agents about their motive 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 investigating illegal narcotics trafficking, was arrested three weeks after the arrest of his alleged accomplice, Special Agent David Cole. (AP Photo/Pablo Martínez Monsiváis)
Between 2022 and 2024, Kindle and Cole allegedly sold the drugs to a person identified in court documents only as a “source of information” for the department who they allowed to resell the drugs, and did not arrest the customers.
The FBI says between $195,000 and $300,000 were made through the scheme.
The two agents later allegedly forced a confidential informant recruited to make controlled purchases from suspicious merchants after he was released from prison to assume the role of new middleman.
Kindle and Cole used an encrypted messaging app to provide the informant with meeting locations, which included a Panera Bread restaurant and a Nike store, according to an FBI affidavit.
The FBI launched an investigation in October 2024 after the informant’s attorney contacted the federal prosecutor in Utah and said Kindle and Cole had forced him to engage in potentially illegal acts, according to the affidavit.
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Kindle and Cole had their Homeland Security credentials suspended, but have not been fired. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Photographs)
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Investigators began tracking the agents and recorded eight cases in which drugs were illegally sold to the informant.
In one case, the informant gave the FBI a plastic foam cup with a granular substance inside that tested positive for drugs. The informant said the officers left the mug in a trash can in the parking lot.
Synthetic gross bath salts, also known as Alpha-PVP or cathinone, are believed to be similar to methamphetamine, cocaine or ecstasy and are not related to real bath products.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
