Federal authorities recruited a person to become a member of the local Outlaw Motorcycle Club with the express intent of infiltrating the bikers’ world and taking them down on drug charges.
Lead investigator Lorin Coppock, an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, testified at a court hearing Monday that their “confidential informant” was indeed a club member. But he declined to answer questions about the person’s identity or how the person managed to gain admittance to the tight-knit, secretive club.
Several federal court hearings Monday allowed most of the 16 club members who have been in custody for the past five days to be released on unsecured $20,000 bonds. They are accused of running a cocaine and crack cocaine ring.
Agent Coppock’s 2 1/2-year undercover investigation into the local Outlaws’ alleged drug trafficking came to a head last week when agents raided their clubhouse at 3014 Campbell St. in Chattanooga.
Fifteen members are named across six federal indictments on charges of participating in the drug ring. A 16th person, Daniel Decker, only is charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.