Broward deputy accused in drug ring
A Broward deputy sheriff who was acquitted on charges of stealing during a drug bust several years ago is now facing a slew of new charges after detectives say he was involved in a drug-trafficking organization.
Albury Burrows, 47, who is stationed at the Port Everglades district, was arrested Monday while he was working. He faces 10 charges, including racketeering, using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony, owning or renting a place for the purpose of trafficking drugs and tampering with evidence. His bail was set for $271,000.
“Everyone who wears our uniform swore to serve and protect the residents of Broward County, not abuse their power for a self-serving purpose,” Broward Sheriff Scott Israel said in a news release. “Although disappointing, this arrest is yet another example of how the professionals in our agency will follow leads wherever they take them, even if that means arresting a fellow deputy who has done wrong.”
According to a 113-page arrest report, Burrows, an 18-year agency veteran, was one of 15 people implicated in what detectives are calling a drug trafficking organization dubbed the Baisden-Allen Organization.
Beginning in January, the Sheriff’s Office and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration began looking into the organization, which, according to the report, “is responsible for importing and distributing large quantities of cocaine and heroin, among other illicit drugs, through Palm Beach, Broward and Miami Dade” counties.
According to the report, detectives tracked oral and electronic communications for about 60 days from devices belonging to Michael Allen and Jeffrey Baisden.
Both Allen and Baisden were involved in the distribution of cocaine and heroin, according to the report.
Through the investigation, detectives identified several people involved in the organization, including Burrows.
Burrows’ role, a detective wrote in the document, was helping Baisden “by advising him on law-enforcement tactics, as part of ongoing efforts to avoid detection and prosecution for crimes committed in furtherance of the unlawful enterprise.”
In one case, Burrows gave Baisden — who, according to the report, is his cousin — information in November about police activity in his area.
Later that month, Baisden called Burrows to tell him that deputies served a search warrant at his house. Burrows, according to the report, told his cousin to go to the Internal Affairs department immediately and file a false report saying he was missing items, including money.
On Tuesday, the Sheriff’s Office said, Burrows was suspended without pay.
“I demand our deputies give their best to our community, and the community wants and expects to receive the best from us,” Israel said Tuesday in the news release.
In 2010, Burrows was arrested after detectives said he stole $1,200 from a marijuana growhouse bust, according to the Sun Sentinel. He was acquitted the following year.