'Very Complex Organization'

HALIFAX DRUG CASE DESCRIBED

HALIFAX -- Maj. R.S.B. Pulliam has seen a lot in his nine years in law
enforcement and is not prone to overstatement.

So he says it was no mistake when he broke out superlatives last week to
describe the indictment of Leo Hinson, a locally well-known 60-year-old
South Boston man, for running what Pulliam said was the largest drug
operation ever encountered by local investigators, stretching up and down
the East Coast.

"It's a very complex organization," said Pulliam, chief deputy of the
Halifax County Sheriff's Department and coordinator of the Halifax/South
Boston Regional Narcotic Enforcement Task Force Office. "It's the largest
organization we've ever investigated, as far as size, people, resources."

A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted Hinson on eight charges,
including conspiring to have people working with the investigation against
him killed, aiding and abetting in the attempted murder of a federal
witness, and possession of a firearm that had been transported in
interstate or foreign commerce. Hinson is being held without bond.

Pulliam said additional drug and firearm charges are expected to be brought
against Hinson.

Local investigators said in a statement: "The investigation revealed a
multifaceted, tiered organization involving murder, money laundering, drug
distribution and alleged corruption involving public officials and law
enforcement officers. Large amounts of cocaine, marijuana and
methamphetamines were being distributed in several states."

Investigators allege that the corrupt officials who worked with Hinson were
not in Virginia. "That's all we can say at this time," Pulliam said.

Hinson's assets, which include about $3 million worth of real estate in
Halifax County, have been seized and authorities have filed for forfeiture,
officials said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Wolthuis declined to comment on the case but
said he expected Hinson to be tried this year in U.S. District Court in
Danville.

Hinson's arrest was the result of a four-year investigation by local, state
and federal officials, including the Halifax/South Boston task force, the
North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the FBI and the Drug
Enforcement Agency.

"There are investigators who have been working on this case, who have been
working only on this case, for several years," Pulliam said.

Hinson moved from North Carolina to the South Boston area in the mid-1990s
and began buying farmland.

In the latter part of the decade, Southside localities, prompted by
concerns that North Carolina's hog farming industry was looking to move
into Virginia, started pushing for stricter regulations on large hog farms.
The effort was opposed by local farmers, who were looking at large scale
hog farming as a money maker.

As the debate swirled, Hinson was pushing to establish an 11,520-animal hog
farm.

After Jack Dunavant, who led opposition, gave the Halifax County Board of
Supervisors Hinson's criminal record in North Carolina as he mustered votes
against the farms, Hinson filed a $27 million suit against Dunavant. Hinson
also filed suit against the supervisors.

Dunavant countersued, and the case was settled out of court with Dunnavent
receiving an undisclosed amount of money.

Investigators have won one conviction against a man they say was a
lieutenant in Hinson's organization. In late January, Phillip Henry
Barfield, 44, of the southern Halifax County community of Alton, pleaded
guilty to multiple counts of distribution of and possession with intent to
distribute methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana, and operating a drug
conspiracy since January 1990.

Methamphetamine is often referred to as "meth" and is also known as speed,
icy and crystal. Federal officials note that meth, like cocaine, is a
potent central nervous system stimulant and is the nation's fastest growing
illegal drug.

Barfield's plea was entered several months before his trial was to begin in
United States District Court in Wilmington, N.C. He could be sentenced in
mid-April to as much as four life terms plus 30 years.

Investigators said Barfield was a major importer of cocaine, marijuana and
methamphetamine into Virginia and North Carolina. The charges against
Barfield involved quantities of more than five kilos of cocaine, 100 kilos
of marijuana and 500 grams of methamphetamine substance, investigators said.

Investigators searching Barfield's Newton Grove, N.C., home seized, among
other things, a methamphetamine laboratory in a building attached to the
house, a quantity of methamphetamines, records, and numerous firearms and
ammunition.

In Halifax, investigators say Hinson's arrest and searches of his property
have yielded numerous leads.

"I'd say we have another year of investigation on the Hinson organization,
and that's if nothing stems from this," Pulliam said. "We're investigating
dozens and arrested nine, with more to follow."