Career Criminal Netted by Homeland Security Task Force Investigation Sentenced on Federal Drug Charges

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - TYRON RAINEY ("RAINEY") (36 years old) from Thibodaux, La. was sentenced on October 1, 2026 to serve a total of 180 months (15 years) imprisonment by United States District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown, announced United States Attorney David I. Courcelle.

RAINEY previously pled guilty on November 6, 2025, to participating in a conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A), and 846.

This investigation began in 2022, when Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA"), Task Force Group 3 ("TFG3"), began investigating narcotics trafficking activities in Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes. This investigation revealed that Andre Lee and Percy Howard were distributing large amounts of methamphetamine throughout both parishes.

During the investigation, acquired information about Lee and Howard's drug trafficking operation. As a result, federal agents conducted court authorized Title III wiretaps on several cellular telephones, including those belonging to Lee and Howard. Agents were then able to record and overhear several drug related calls between Howard and RAINEY during this Title III investigation. RAINEY was identified as a local dealer with a lengthy criminal record. Agents also learned that Lee and Howard were obtaining large amounts of methamphetamine from individuals in California, Texas, and Mississippi. This investigation resulted in the conviction of seven individuals on federal drug trafficking charges.

This matter was investigated by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the Louisiana State Police, the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Department, and the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Department. It was prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel, Assistant United States Attorney Maurice E. Landrieu.

This case is brought pursuant to the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF New Orleans comprises agents and officers from the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana.