{"id":320133,"date":"2014-12-03T16:59:28","date_gmt":"2014-12-03T22:59:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ktbb.com\/post\/?p=320133"},"modified":"2014-12-04T02:23:09","modified_gmt":"2014-12-04T08:23:09","slug":"multiple-agencies-conduct-arrestsearchseizure-operation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/?p=320133","title":{"rendered":"Officials: Gregg County Businesses Busted in Synthetic Drug Operation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"thumb_crimescene-1\"<\/a>LONGVIEW \u2013 U.S. Attorney John M. Bales announced Wednesday that three individuals have been arrested following a lengthy investigation into an alleged synthetic drug operation in the Eastern District of Texas. On Wednesday, a combined task force of federal, state and local law enforcement executed federal arrest warrants and search warrants in Longview as a result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Tyler Task Force. <\/p>\n

According to federal prosecutors, in April 2014, law enforcement agencies, initiated an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation into a synthetic marijuana trafficking organization based in the East Texas area. Officials say this investigation involved extensive surveillance and controlled purchases of controlled substances, controlled substance analogues, and drug paraphernalia. To date, law enforcement officials have seized several products containing illegal synthetic drugs, according to authorities. <\/p>\n

The operation resulted in the arrest of Jeremy Chad Tidwell, 39, of Gilmer, his wife, Shanna Peek Tidwell, 36, of Gilmer, and Jeremy\u2019s brother, Brian Tidwell 42, of Arlington. Four retail stores, all located in Longview, were searched as part of the law enforcement operation. Approximately $1 million cash and two vehicles were seized, as well as synthetic drugs during the operation, according to officials.<\/p>\n

The defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury on Nov. 12, 2014. They were charged with two counts of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute synthetic drugs containing Schedule I controlled substances and controlled substance analogues, one count of conspiracy to offer for sale misbranded or altered drugs, one count of conspiracy to sell drug paraphernalia, and one count of conspiracy to money launder. The defendants made an initial appearance Wednesday in Tyler before U.S. Magistrate Judge John D. Love. If convicted, the defendants each face up to 20 years in federal prison.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s enforcement operations are indicative of the DEA\u2019s commitment to rid East Texas communities of dangerous and unpredictable substances such as K2, also known as Spice (synthetic cannabinoids), that were being distributed by an organization that generated tremendous illicit profits from sales to multiple users,\u201d said the DEA Dallas Division\u2019s Special Agent in Charge, Daniel R. Salter. \u201cCitizens in East Texas can rest assured that the DEA and our law enforcement partners are determined to ensure that Gregg County and the surrounding communities remain a safe place to live. The success of this intensive and thorough investigation is an outstanding example of cooperative law enforcement efforts and determination.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LONGVIEW \u2013 U.S. Attorney John M. Bales announced Wednesday that three individuals have been arrested following a lengthy investigation into an alleged synthetic drug operation in the Eastern District of Texas. On Wednesday, a combined task force of federal, state and local law enforcement executed federal arrest warrants and search warrants in Longview as a … Continue reading Officials: Gregg County Businesses Busted in Synthetic Drug Operation<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[177],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-320133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-archive-archives"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-13 12:56:51","action":"change-status","newStatus":"trash","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=320133"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":320206,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320133\/revisions\/320206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=320133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=320133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=320133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}