‘Once or twice a week’: Homeland Security agents sold bath salts through informant with meetups at Shake Shack, Nike and Panera Bread, feds say

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security sign is seen at the Headquarters in Washington, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security sign is seen at the Headquarters in Washington, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

A Department of Homeland Security agent allegedly sold the synthetic drug known as “bath salts” on the streets of Salt Lake City, Utah, as a side hustle — using his position with DHS and a sanctioned informant to sling his product, along with another agent — right under the noses of officials, according to federal authorities.

David Cole, 50, is accused of using his power as a Homeland Security Investigations special agent to convince a “confidential” source to do his bath salt bidding, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Authorities estimate that he and another HSI agent, who has been charged but not publicly named, raked in approximately $150,000 to $300,000 in illegal proceeds from the alleged drug dealing scheme, which was uncovered by authorities in October 2024 after the informant came forward. The alleged DHS source was released from prison in May 2023 and was asked by Cole to “engage in acts” that they believed to be unlawful, according to Cole’s FBI complaint, which was filed on Dec. 6 and viewed by Law&Crime.

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