Dem Mayor Arrested for Alleged Role in Drug Trafficking Scheme

One of the youngest mayors in Louisiana history was arrested Tuesday for his role in an alleged drug-trafficking ring that moved opioids, pot and MDMA — two years to the day of his swearing-in ceremony.

Tyrin Truong, the 25-year-old mayor of the tiny eastern Louisiana city of Bogalusa, was collared for allegedly organizing “entertainment with a prostitute” at an AirBnB rented with public money during a mayor’s conference in Atlanta, NOLA.com said.

Truong — elected to his post at the tender young age of 23 — was also buying drugs in Louisiana, Northshore District Attorney Collin Sims told the outlet.

“This conduct is not going to be tolerated,” Sims said in an interview. “The citizens of Bogalusa deserve better and we’re not finished. We’re just getting started.”

The arrest likely signals the end of Truong’s brief political career, which began in November 2022 when he knocked incumbent Mayor Wendy O’Quin Perrette out of the city’s top spot.

When he was sworn in on Jan. 7, 2023, Truong became the city’s youngest mayor and tied the state record for youngest mayor in Louisiana history, NOLA.com said.

During his campaign, the Washington University graduate and former intern for US Rep. Lacy Clay, a Missouri Democrat, said he’d returned home to “make a difference” and reverse the souring fortunes of the 10,000-person city near the Alabama border.

As mayor-elect, he sought the resignation of the city’s police chief after a black man died in custody — and once in office, he pushed for law enforcement to patrol the streets more often.

He also had clear ambitions for higher office, and ran unsuccessfully for chair of the state’s Democratic Party last year.

But he’s also seen his share of trouble — in July, the state’s Legislative Auditor’s Office claimed he’d made improper payments to employees and signed illegal contracts with vendors, among other things.

His half-brother was also arrested in 2023 in connection with a fatal shooting at a high school basketball game — prompting Truong to tell a local station that, “We all have family members doing things we are not proud of.”

It appears he, too, can join that list.

Two years to the day of his inauguration, the Louisiana State Police handcuffed the Washington Parish native and charged him engaging in transactions involving proceeds from drug offenses, solicitation of prostitutes and a theft charge.

“We have zero tolerance for wrongdoing, especially from public officials,” Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said. “I’m very proud of all our law enforcement agencies who worked on this investigation.”

Truong’s bail was set at $150,000 and he was being held at the parish jail, NOLA.com said.

Investigators who worked the nearly year-long investigation said a Bogalusa-area drug trafficking organization was selling opioids, high-grade pot, THC products and MDMA over social media, the State Police told the outlet.

The alleged traffickers later used the profits to buy guns — some of which were funneled to people who weren’t allowed to own them.

Others were linked to violent crimes committed in the region, the outlet said.

Six other people were picked up as part of the ring and hit with various offenses, according to multiple reports.