JACKSON - After a three-year investigation that culminated in the arrests of 19 alleged drug dealers and a four-month manhunt for the reputed ringleader, authorities said Tuesday they have no information on the whereabouts of David Warner.
Warner, 31, disappeared as investigators raided his sprawling 5,100-square-foot home in rural Jefferson Davis County where authorities say he based his multimillion-dollar drug ring. During the raid in June, officers did find a sealed federal indictment pertaining to people allegedly involved in the illegal ring and a small amount of drugs, but Warner was gone.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is now trying to determine how Warner got his hands on the sealed indictment and who he may have gotten it from.
"All leads are being investigated," said FBI spokeswoman Deborah Madden. Citing FBI policy, however, Madden declined to discuss details of the investigation into the indictment.
U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton has said the only people with access to such an indictment worked in the federal clerk's office in Hattiesburg, the U.S. Marshals office or the U.S Attorney's office.
Lampton's office declined Tuesday to comment on the case until Warner is in custody.
In the past, Lampton has said Warner's organization distributed large quantities of cocaine and marijuana in Mobile, Ala.; Memphis, Tenn.; Jackson and Hattiesburg.
The Drug Enforcement Agency and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics spearheaded the investigation and worked closely with several other law enforcement agencies and the Mississippi National Guard, which used helicopters to stake out Warner's home.
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