NEWPORT-A wanted suspect police had described as "armed and dangerous," Larry A. Wade, a.k.a. "Lako," was arrested Thursday, June 11, in Dandridge without incident.
Newport Police Department Chief Maurice Shults said Wade, 31, was unarmed when arrested at the Pilot gas station on exit 417 of Interstate-40 in Dandridge.
Wade, who allegedly had residences in Newport and in Nashville, was charged with Conspiracy to Possess With Intent to Distribute Cocaine.
He had been wanted in connection with a cocaine distribution ring in Newport.
A warrant was taken out by the 4th Judicial Drug Task Force on April 29 that allegedly stemmed from a search of Wade's residence on White Oak Drive in Newport.
Wade was arrested in a joint effort by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department,  the anti-drug program Interdiction Plus which is coordinated by the Tennessee Highway Patrol, and the 4th Judicial Drug Task Force, according to a report written by Capt. James Holt of the Newport Police Department.
Holt is a member of Interdiction Plus, described in an Internet press release as a THP-run state-wide effort whereby city police departments and county sheriff's departments form regional teams consisting of officers with K-9 support.
According to the Interdiction Plus release, the teams work with other state and federal government agencies to interdict all criminal activity, including drugs, currency, illegal immigrants, weapons, counterfeit documents, terrorist activity, etc.
Newport police alleged that Wade was the leader of a drug conspiracy centered around his residence in Newport.
Wade allegedly has a criminal record that includes arrests for aggravated assault, weapons and drug charges.