Convicted Abbeville Drug Dealer Gets Heavy Sentence

KPEL reported on this story back in June before he was sentenced this week.

The last man involved in two decades of drug investigation has been sentenced. The judge handed down 17 and a half years in prison to Kevin Forrest of Abbeville. US Attorney Stephanie Finley says Forrest was part of a drug trafficking group that had been operating out of Texas since 1990. The group brought cocaine from Texas into Abbeville, where they would "whip" it into crack, then distribute it. Investigators learned that a police officer, pharmacist, and a number of Abbeville residents were involved. After original charges against Forrest were dropped in 2005, authorities say he returned to drug trafficking the following year. In 2007, Forrest was brought in again for trafficking powder cocaine. He was indicted and pled guilty in June of last year. He also faces 5 years of probation.