Eight people are facing federal criminal charges as part of a multi-year investigation of a drug-trafficking organization operated out of Burlington. Many local law enforcement agencies assisted in the joint federal and state investigation including the sheriff’s offices in Washington, Louisa, Henry, and Johnson Counties, and the Southeast Iowa Narcotics Task Force. Five of the eight have been arrested so far. The other three identities are sealed at this time. Those arrested include Kendrick Page, Breon Raquon Armstrong, Lamar Harris, Tristan Davis, and James Lewis Miles, Jr. The charges carry maximum penalties of between 40 years and life imprisonment if convicted. The cases are part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer.

In addition to the five arrested this week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa has indicted 18 people in the last year from the Burlington area and to date 16 have been arrested. Their charges include possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, carrying firearms, and distribution of a controlled substance.