Twelve Charged in Federal Takedown of Drug Operation Run by Inmate in the Westville Correctional Facility

INDIANAPOLIS- Twelve individuals have been charged in a federal indictment alleging their participation in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl, and other controlled substances throughout central Indiana. The charges follow a months-long investigation led by the Crossroads of America Homeland Security Task Force. The defendants and the charges they face are as follows:

According to the indictment, Justin Veal, operating from within the Westville Correctional Facility in Westville, Indiana, led a drug-trafficking organization responsible for distributing hundreds of pounds of illegal narcotics across the Southern District of Indiana. At Veal's direction, co-conspirators Sade Butler of Indianapolis and Shawnlisa Nevels of Fort Wayne obtained methamphetamine, cocaine, Suboxone, and fentanyl from various suppliers and distributed the drugs to customers in Anderson, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and several other Indiana communities.

During the investigation, law enforcement seized the following contraband and proceeds of criminal activity:

• 13 firearms, including select-fire weapons with drum magazines
• 130 pounds of methamphetamine
• 550 grams of cocaine
• 241 grams of fentanyl
• 25 Suboxone Strips
• 1750 grams of synthetic cannabinoid ("spice")
• Several thousand counterfeit fentanyl pills
• Heroin
• Cash
• A pill press with drug residue
• High-value jewelry
• 15 cell phones
• 2 vehicles

U.S. Attorney Wheeler thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsay Karwoski and Patrick Gibson, who are prosecuting this case.

This operation is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. Crossroads HSTF comprises agents and officers from FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Services, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Indiana National Guard, Indiana State Police, HIDTA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations, Marion County Sheriff's Office, and Plainfield Police Department, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Indiana.

An indictment or criminal complaint are merely allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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