A policeman from Yuba City was among the people arrested earlier this week in connection with an alleged cocaine trafficking scheme.
According to federal officials, 35-year-old Harminder Phagura, an officer with the Yuba City Police Department, was taken into custody Wednesday, along with 39-year-old Gursharan Phagura.The two were targeted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as part of an ongoing probe targeting cocaine traffickers.
The two men are believed to be related, according to numerous reports.
According to a federal criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday, Officer Phagura was a lookout for his relative’s drug deals while on duty and monitored police radio frequencies to ensure federal investigators were not nearby.
But the feds got wise to Phagura, and eventually intentionally misled local authorities to see if he would bite. In one instance last summer, federal agents told Yuba City police dispatchers they would be at a particular intersection in specific vehicles in to see whether Phagura would relay the information to his cohorts.
Phagura allegedly warned the dealers law enforcement was in the area by texting a single word, “Hot.”
In the complaint filed against the two men, they are accused of conspiring to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute, and use of a communication facility in narcotics trafficking activity.
The officer was released on $100,000 bond. Phagura remains in custody.