Teacher Accused Of Helping Drug Trafficking Gang: ‘You Could Hear Children’

A third-grade teacher has been arrested, accused of conspiring with a drug trafficking gang while she was working at the school in Houston.

34-year-old Jessica Ferguson, a teacher within the Sheldon Independent School District in Harris County, Texas, was arrested on Thursday along with 17 others on charges relating to a drug trafficking investigation, while another three individuals suspected to be involved were already in custody, according to local ABC affiliate Eyewitness News.

The outlet reported that Alamdar Hamdani, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, said in a press conference that the teacher was taking phone calls in relation to the alleged illegal activities, and “you could hear the children in the background” while she talked.

According to local reports, there were no children present at the time of her arrest on campus, and she has since been placed on administrative leave.

A representative for the school district told Newsweek, “Sheldon ISD is aware of a law enforcement investigation and recent arrest of a Sheldon ISD teacher. Due to privacy laws, the District is limited in its ability to share all information concerning the allegations and the teacher. The District confirms that the arrest did not take place in the presence of students.”

“The District expects all of its employees to comply with state and federal laws, and the District is cooperating fully with law enforcement as this investigation continues. As always, the safety and well-being of all Sheldon ISD students and our District community remain our top priorities,” the school district added.

Her arrest came as part of the Department of Justice‘s mission to combat violent crime in Houston, and around 300 officers set out across the city to find those thought to be involved in a gang trafficking kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine throughout the region, Houston Landing reported.

One of the other suspects arrested was 35-year-old Alfred Jacoby Green, who authorities believe is the gang’s leader. FBI Special Agent Doug Williams said in a press conference that he hoped the arrests would help to “connect the dots on several cases, including unsolved murders,” the outlet added.

The gang, believed to be named “Rich Kingz” is believed to have been operating for years and “is responsible for drug trafficking and violent crimes across our entire city, including several murders,” agent Williams reportedly added.

U.S. attorney Hamdani said, “Drug trafficking in Houston and throughout the United States is a rampant problem that continues to take lives. It takes lives through violence that goes hand in hand with drug trafficking. It takes lives in the deaths of people who overdose using those drugs. It takes lives in the communities that are left ravaged and ruined in their wake,” Houston Landing reports.

According to local outlet Click2Houston, Hamdani also said the Rich Kingz are believed to be linked to other criminal networks in the area.

Combating violent crime is a priority for the FBI in Houston, authorities said, noting more than 65 offenders have been arrested, more than 130 firearms have been confiscated, and around $1.3 million seized in the past two years, Houston Landing added.

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