High-Ranking DEA Agent Snared in ‘Sting,’ Faces Cocaine Charges
A high-ranking, decorated agent of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was arrested with 62 pounds of cocaine and charged with possession with intent to distribute the drug, officials said Tuesday.
Edward K. O’Brien, 44, former head of the DEA’s Springfield office, was the target of a sting operation. He was arrested at Logan International Airport on Monday night with an estimated $560,000 worth of cocaine in his suitcases, officials said.
It was John J. Coleman, head of the Boston DEA office, who made the arrest. He said that O’Brien picked up the cocaine in Miami and was paid $14,000 to take it to someone in Boston, unaware that the contacts in both cities were undercover agents. O’Brien expected to get a second $14,000 payment for delivering the cocaine, Coleman said.
At the time of his arrest, O’Brien, an 18-year veteran of the DEA, was a supervising agent at headquarters in Arlington, Va. He was placed on administrative leave.
If convicted, he could be sentenced to 10 years to life in prison and fined as much as $4 million.
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