Leland police officer indicted in probe
Man charged with conspiring to traffic drugs, obstruction of justice

By Ken Little
Staff Writer
ken.little@starnewsonline.com

Before Brett H. Hobbs joined the Leland police force, he was associated with a drug distribution network that shipped more than 100 pounds of undiluted cocaine into Brunswick County, investigators said.

Officer Hobbs, 26, was charged Thursday with felony counts of conspiring to traffic cocaine and obstruction of justice.

He surrendered after a lengthy investigation dubbed “Operation Riptide� by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, a multiagency unit using federal, state and county resources.

The conspiracy charge refers to activities in 1999 and 2000 and names at least eight co-conspirators.

One is Dino Rodriguez, who authorities said was the reputed leader of an organization that smuggled cocaine from Mexico to Texas and Florida, and then Brunswick County.

Mr. Rodriguez is now in federal custody.

A Brunswick County Superior Court indictment unsealed Thursday states that Officer Hobbs conspired with others, including Mr. Rodriguez, to transport more than 400 grams of cocaine.

Another indictment charging Officer Hobbs with obstruction of justice states that he willfully misled a State Bureau of Investigation agent July 7 during the course of the drug investigation.

Leland officials said Officer Hobbs has been with the Leland Police Department about four years.

He is the department’s K-9 officer.

Police Chief Osey Sanders was not available for comment Thursday. Officer Hobbs is currently on paid administrative leave, according to a prepared statement from Leland Town Manager David Hewett.

In the statement, Mr. Hewett said the arrest does not reflect on the entire police department.

“We must not allow one isolated incident to detract from their tremendous accomplishments,� he said.

Officer Hobbs is held on $500,000 bail and will likely be transferred to a jail outside Brunswick County for his own safekeeping, authorities said.

Agencies participating in Operation Riptide include the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the SBI and the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office. Chief Sanders became aware of the investigation last year and fully cooperated as it proceeded, Brunswick County District Attorney Rex Gore said.

Once kilo-size quantities of cocaine arrived in North Carolina, the drug was cooked into crack cocaine form and distributed in Brunswick, Columbus and New Hanover counties, state Attorney General’s Office spokesman William McKinney said.

The other eight defendants have been charged in state or federal court. All have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with authorities, Mr. McKinney said.

The drug investigation has been under way for about three years and is ongoing, he said.

Mr. Gore said Officer Hobbs fell under state jurisdiction because he was likely “relatively low in the chain of command� in the drug ring.

Officer Hobbs is the son of Leland Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Gordon Hobbs.

Mr. Hobbs “has done nothing of which I am aware to illegally hinder or obstruct the arrest of Officer Hobbs,� Mr. Gore said in a prepared statement.

The Leland Police Department, which numbers about 15 officers, lost its second-in-command in February after Capt. Concepcion Rivera, 35, was charged with domestic violence and driving while impaired. He resigned soon afterward. The case is pending.

Mr. Gore said most law enforcement officers want to see the bad apples weeded out. So does he.

“It’s always disappointing when you charge a police officer,� Mr. Gore said. “The vast, overwhelming majority of them are doing their job because it’s a calling. I hate it when any officer casts a doubtful light on the truthfulness and dedication of other officers.�
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