NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – Two NOPD officers and one Orleans Parish Sheriff’s deputy were indicted today on federal contraband cigarette trafficking charges.
According to a release from the U.S. Justice Department, NOPD officers Justin Brown, 29, and Joshua Carthon, 32, and OPSO deputy Garrett Partman, 31, were involved in a cigarette smuggling business that involved buying contraband cigarettes and cigars to evade applicable taxes and receive higher profits from cigarette sales.
The officers were used to protect and transport the cigarette shipments across state lines.
Three other men were indicted in connection with the cigarette smuggling case. Jadallah Saed, 30, and Anwar Abdelmajid-Ahmad, 29, both of Gretna, and Atalla Atalla of Wilmington, N.C., were also charged with trafficking contraband cigarettes.
NOPD Superintendent Michael Harrison said the officers in question have been arrested and suspended without pay.