Thirteen current and former law enforcement officers, nearly all of them from North Carolina, have been indicted for drug trafficking.

The announcement was made yesterday in Washington by an assistant U.S. attorney general and the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. The indictment alleges that members of the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office comprised a large-scale trafficking ring in an effort to move drugs and cash up the Interstate 95 corridor. The organization was actually an undercover program conducted by the FBI, titled “Operation Rockfish.”

“The actions by these individuals are particularly troubling due to their current and past affiliation with law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Thomas G. Walker of N.C.’s Eastern District. “Their alleged conduct was reprehensible and my office will not tolerate this kind of corruption in our district.”

A total of 15 defendants were charged with conspiring to distribute controlled substances and conspiring to use and carry firearms during and in relation to drug trafficking offenses. Other charges against certain defendants include attempted extortion, attempted possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, money laundering, federal programs bribery and use and carry of firearms during and in relation to crimes of violence and drug trafficking offenses.

The following individuals were arrested:

—Lann Tjuan Clanton, 36, a correctional officer with the Virginia Department of Corrections

—Ikeisha Jacobs, 32, a deputy with the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office

—Jason Boone, 29, a deputy with the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office

—Wardie Vincent Jr., 35, formerly of the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office

—Adrienne Moody, 39, a correctional officer with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety

—Cory Jackson, 43, formerly of the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office

—Jimmy Pair Jr., 48, a deputy with the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office

—Curtis Boone, 31, a deputy with the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office

—Antonio Tillmon, 31, a police officer with the Windsor City Police Department

—Alaina Sue Kamling, 27, a correctional officer with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety

—Kavon Phillips, 25, a correctional officer with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety

—Crystal Pierce, 31, of Raleigh, North Carolina

—Alphonso Ponton, 42, a correctional officer with the Virginia Department of Corrections

—Thomas Jefferson Allen II, 37, a deputy with the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office

—Tosha Dailey, 31, a 911 dispatch operator for Northampton County

“They vowed to protect and serve, but instead these deputies and correctional officers sold their badges and used their law enforcement positions to line their own pockets,” said John A. Strong, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Charlotte Division.