8 arrested in Southern Illinois drug investigation, FBI says

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (WCIA) — Eight people are under arrest on suspicion of drug possession and distribution following an FBI investigation in Southern Illinois.

FBI officials said the arrests were made by the Southern Illinois Transnational Organized Crime West (TOC-W), which focuses on, among other federal violations, large-scale drug trafficking organizations operating throughout Southern Illinois and Mexico.

Throughout the first half of April, officials said, eight people were arrested on charges of possessing and distributing methamphetamine and fentanyl. They are:

• Jackie Scanlan of Centralia — two counts of possession with intent to distribute meth and fentanyl
• Mark Hills of Salem — two counts of possession with intent to distribute meth and fentanyl
• Matthew Campbell of Keyesport — two counts of distribution of meth
• Denzel McChrisitian of St. Louis — one count of distribution of meth
• Karie Holstlaw of Centralia — one count of distribution of meth
• Sherry Dent of Germantown — five counts of possession with intent to distribute meth and fentanyl
• Dennis Conway of Vandalia — two counts of possession with intent to distribute meth and fentanyl
• Jeffrey Steinkamp of Vandalia — two counts of distribution of meth

“Dangerous drugs take far too many lives in our communities,” said Shannon Fontenot, FBI Springfield Field Office Assistant Special Agent in Charge. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to disrupt and dismantle criminal drug operations, ensuring citizens are no longer held captive by the violence and destruction that accompanies the distribution of illegal narcotics.”

The TOC-W Task Force was assisted in the investigation by the FBI’s St. Louis Field Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois, the police departments of Mt. Vernon, Carlyle, Centralia, and Germantown and the Sherrif’s Offices of Fayette, Clinton, Bond, Jefferson, and Marion Counties.

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