Clayton News Daily

McDONOUGH — A former Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer from Henry County, along with one other man, was indicted in federal court Tuesday, for conspiring and attempting to smuggle cocaine through Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, according to Sally Quillian Yates, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

Richard C. Cook II and DeKalb County resident Timothy G. Gregory were named by federal officials Tuesday.

Cook, 27, and Gregory, 25, were indicted by a federal grand jury for multiple counts of drug trafficking. In addition to the cocaine charges, Cook was charged with attempting to possess with intent to distribute heroin.

“Our nation’s well-being depends, in part, on the security of its airports,” Yates said in a written statement. “Moreover, the citizens of this district are entitled to law enforcement officers who obey the laws that they have sworn to enforce. The crimes with which Cook and Gregory are charged created a breach in the security of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and betrayed the trust of millions of passengers who travel through this airport each year.”

The indictment charges each defendant with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and multiple counts of substantive drug trafficking. The most serious of the charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison and a fine of up to $10 million.