HOPE — Three Bonner County men have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Coeur d’Alene for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

Larry Junior Hillbroom, Morgan Kenney and Sean Robert Wathen were taken into custody Wednesday by agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, according to U.S. District Court records. The arrests came after agents reportedly raided a home on the Hope peninsula where the three men were living.

Hillbroom, 36, Kenney, 34, and Wathen, 48, are scheduled to make initial appearances today in U.S. District Court in Coeur d’Alene

The indictment alleges the trio conspired to distribute the addictive stimulant from 2015 to February 2016. The indictment contains a criminal forfeiture allegation which requires the suspects to relinquish any and all property, including cash, that was derived from the commission of the distribution offense.

Federal prosecutors are moving for the three to remain in detention while the case is pending because there are risks that they may flee to avoid being prosecuted or that they will attempt to obstruct justice and intimidate witnesses, court records show. The government further argues that they should remain in custody because the conspiracy offense can result in prison terms of 10 years of more if convicted.

Hillbroom is the scion of late DHL Worldwide shipping magnate Larry Hillblom. He was prosecuted in the Micronesian country of Palau in 2017 for distributing meth, according to published media accounts.

This case was investigated by the DEA, Bonner County Sheriff’s Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Coeur d’Alene Police Department, Idaho State Police, U.S. Border Patrol, and U.S. Marshals Service, according to U.S. Attorney Bart Davis.

This indictment is the result of a joint investigation by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force. The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

The federal meth conspiracy charge is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison, a maximum fine of $1 million, and at least three years of supervised release.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.