SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Another Department of Homeland Security agent has been indicted in federal court on charges related to using a confidential informant to traffic illicit drugs seized as evidence.
Nicholas Kindle, a special agent in Utah responsible for investigating illegal narcotics trafficking, was apprehended following his alleged involvement with fellow agent David Cole. Both are accused of a felony drug distribution conspiracy, with Kindle facing an additional charge of conspiring to profit from U.S. government property.
Kindle is scheduled for his initial court appearance on January 21 in Salt Lake City, facing a potential 25-year prison sentence if convicted. As of now, no attorney has been assigned to represent him.
Unlike Cole, who was indicted by a grand jury last month, Kindle was charged via an information document from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, bypassing grand jury approval.
Prosecutors assert that Kindle and Cole misused their positions to obtain illegal drugs referred to as “bath salts” from Homeland Security evidence, as well as from various law enforcement personnel, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, under false pretenses of legitimate investigations.
Allegedly, Kindle and Cole began pilfering drugs from evidence and deceiving colleagues about their intentions in 2021. They are also accused of stealing cash, a diamond ring, and a Peruvian antiquity from evidence.
Between 2022 and 2024, the agents purportedly sold the drugs to an individual identified only as a “source of information” for the department and allowed this person to resell the drugs without intervening, per charging documents. The illicit operation is said to have generated between $195,000 and $300,000.
Furthermore, the agents allegedly coerced a confidential informant, who had been recruited to make controlled purchases from suspected drug dealers upon his release from prison, to become their intermediary.
Kindle and Cole allegedly used an encrypted messaging app to orchestrate meetings with the informant at various locations, ranging from a Panera Bread restaurant to a Nike store, according to an FBI affidavit.
The FBI launched an investigation in October 2024 after the informant’s attorney reported Kindle and Cole’s apparent request for him to engage in potentially unlawful activities. Subsequently, investigators surveilled the agents and documented eight transactions wherein drugs were unlawfully sold to the informant.
During one exchange, the informant handed the FBI a cup containing a granular substance that tested positive for drugs, which he stated was left for him by the agents in a parking lot trash can.
Authorities warn that the ingestion of synthetic bath salts, or Alpha-PVP, can induce unusual behavior, including paranoia and heightened strength. The substance is likened to methamphetamine, cocaine, or ecstasy and is distinct from actual bath products.
Although their Homeland Security credentials were revoked, Kindle and Cole have not been terminated, according to court records.
Cole has entered a not guilty plea to his drug distribution conspiracy charge and is set to stand trial the week of February 24, facing a
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