DALLAS, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- The FBI was asked Friday to investigate allegations that some Dallas police narcotics officers made arrests based on fake drugs.
Dallas County District Attorney Bill Hill asked for the FBI's assistance in the widening probe of the phony drugs that turned out to be gypsum powder like that used in wallboard.
"These cases have raised questions in the mind of the public that reflect not just on police procedures, but on the integrity of the entire criminal justice system," he said. "It is essential to have an independent agency involved so the results of the investigation will restore public trust."
Prosecutors have moved to dismiss 59 cases related to the investigation, according to The Dallas Morning News. Thirty-nine suspects were arrested and at least three of them remain in custody. Several have been deported.
Earlier this week, Police Chief Terrell Bolton requested assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration but that agency advised they could not conduct a criminal investigation, only assist in a review of procedures used in making the drug arrests.
Two Dallas police narcotics officers have been placed on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of an internal investigation. A confidential informant is also being investigated.
The problems surfaced last October when the district attorney's office noticed that laboratory tests were finding fake drugs after the evidence had cleared field tests as cocaine or other controlled substances. The police department launched an investigation in November.
Many of the suspects arrested in the cases were Mexican nationals, according to defense attorneys. Several of them were deported as a result of their drug arrests.
Two Dallas defense attorneys are planning to file federal civil rights cases within a few weeks because they believe that Mexican nationals were targeted.
