FORT WAYNE, Ind. — From Mexico to Fort Wayne, they would truck kilos of cocaine for distribution. Police called them the largest drug ring in Northern Indiana.
On Thursday, a U.S. District Court judge sentenced Allan L. Bates to 15 years in prison as part of a plea deal he previously made with federal prosecutors, closing a case that uncovered 100 kilos of cocaine and more than $5.9 million in cash during a series of searches in 2015.
The FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force conducted almost 20 searches during the investigation, finding cocaine with a street value worth about $3 million as well as nearly $6 million in cash, which was to be largely doled out amongst law enforcement departments as part of forfeiture laws.
Many others were arrested, and numerous guns and vehicles were seized by the task force as well.
