SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A second Department of Homeland Security agent has been charged in federal court with using a confidential informant to sell illegal drugs seized as evidence.
Nicholas Kindle, a Utah special agent charged with investigating illegal narcotics trafficking, was arrested three weeks after his alleged co-conspirator, Special Agent David Cole. Both face one count of conspiracy to distribute drugs, and Kindle faces an additional charge of conspiracy to convert U.S. government property for profit.
On Thursday, a magistrate judge set Kindle's first court appearance for Jan. 21 in Salt Lake City. If convicted, he faces a maximum prison sentence of 25 years.
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An attorney for Kindle has not yet been included in the lawsuits.
Unlike Cole, who was indicted by a grand jury last month, Kindle was formally charged in an information document from the U.S. Attorney's Office, which does not require grand jury approval to initiate criminal proceedings.
Federal prosecutors say Kindle and Cole abused their positions to obtain illegal drugs known as “bath salts” from evidence from Homeland Security and from other law enforcement personnel, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, under the false pretense that they would use them for legitimate investigations.
Prosecutors say Kindle and Cole began stealing drugs from evidence in 2021 and lied to fellow officers about their purpose. They also allegedly stole thousands of dollars in cash, a diamond ring and a Peruvian antiquity from evidence.
From 2022 to 2024, the officers allegedly sold the drugs to a person identified in court documents only as a “source of information” for the department, prosecutors said. They allowed that person to resell the drugs and did not arrest the customers, according to charging documents.
According to the FBI, the scheme raised between $195,000 and $300,000.
The agents later allegedly forced a confidential informant to make controlled purchases from suspected dealers after his release from prison to become the new middleman.
Kindle and Cole used an encrypted messaging app to give the informants meeting locations ranging from a Panera Bread restaurant to a Nike store, according to an FBI affidavit.
The FBI began investigating in October 2024 after the informant's attorney contacted the U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah to report that Kindle and Cole had demanded he perform potentially unlawful acts, the affidavit said. Investigators began following them and recorded eight transactions in which drugs were illegally sold to the informant.
On one occasion, authorities say, the informant handed the FBI a plastic foam cup containing a grainy substance that tested positive for drugs. He said the officers left it for him in a trash can in the parking lot.
Ingestion of synthetic bath salts, also called Alpha-PVP or cathinone, can lead to bizarre behavior such as paranoia and extreme strength, according to authorities. The drug is said to be similar to methamphetamine, cocaine or ecstasy, and has nothing to do with actual bath products.
Kindle and Cole have had their Homeland Security credentials suspended but have not been fired, according to court documents.
Cole has pleaded not guilty to his charge of conspiracy to commit drug distribution and will stand trial the week of February 24. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 20 years.
