Sheriff Mike Couvillon encourages all citizens with information in regards to illegal drug activities to contact the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office or the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit at 337-740-4501 or e-mail the Task Force anonymously at taskforce@vpso.net and your e-mail will be held in the “strictest of confidence” and replied to in a timely manner.

VERMILION PARISH — Eight people were arrested on various drug charges, including a convicted felon from Abbeville who also was found in possession of a gun, sheriff’s officials said.

The arrests, all which including possession of methamphetamine, were made after investigations by Vermilion Municipal and Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force agents, said sheriff’s office Public Information Officer Eddie Langlinais.

All the arrests happened within the parish and continued to show the prevalence of meth in Louisiana communities.

One of the busts came after Sheriff’s Office patrol division officers were called to the scene of a burglary in progress.

Officers arrived quickly and were able to identify the suspects’ car. As officers stopped the car, “several items were observed being discarded, some of which were later determined to be suspected illegal narcotics,” Langlinais said.

Drake Mouton, 30, of Kaplan was charged with possession of a schedule 1 drug, marijuana and with intent to distribute a schedule II drug, meth.

Joshua Cessac, 44, of Abbeville was charged with possession with intent to distribute meth.

And Chad Mayers, 43, of Kaplan was charged with possession with intent to distribute meth.

Another traffic stop was done in Mouton Cove Community, where Kevin J. Guidry, 59, of Abbeville was found with meth and a gun. He was charged with possession, possession of a firearm in the presence of a controlled dangerous substance and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

A separate investigation led to the arrest of Steven Rizzuto, 36, of Abbeville, He was charged with possession of meth, possession of a schedule IV drug, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.

Brandi SImon, 42, of Kaplan was charged after agents conducted a search of her residence and found a large amount of drugs.

She was charged with possession of meth with intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia, transactions involving drug proceeds, possession of a legend drug, possession of suboxone and possession of marijuana.

Finally, agents raided a residence in Abbeville.

Michael Vincent, 64, was charged with possession of meth and marijuana. Jhad Davis, 39, was charged with possession of meth and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Sheriff Michael Couvillon thanked agencies that assisted and asked the public to continue reporting suspected illegal drug activity by contacting Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office or the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit at 337-740-4501 or E-mail the Task Force anonymously at taskforce@vpso.net and your e-mail will be held in the “strictest of confidence” and replied to in a very timely manner.

Citizens can also report crimes by calling the Crime Stoppers of Vermilion Tips line at 740-TIPS (8477) or download and logon to the P3 app on your mobile device to report your tips anonymously, where you can earn a cash reward.