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A group of 14 serving and previous police personnel are part of 20 defendants taken into custody in the states of Mississippi and Tennessee for accepting bribes from narcotics dealers in exchange for law enforcement cover, in what officials described as "a monumental betrayal of public trust".

The arrests follow a multi-year investigation by national law enforcement who acted as drug sellers. Among those charged were county sheriffs from Mississippi.

National authorities initiated the undercover operation after receiving reports from real drug traffickers about being forced to provide corrupt payments to officers.

The bribery network reportedly reached beyond the Mississippi Delta region into Memphis, Tennessee, and Miami, Florida.

"The original complaints that began the investigation were from narcotics traffickers," a U.S. attorney stated during a news conference on Thursday.

Certain law enforcement members had received bribes between $20,000 (£15,000) and $37,000, the prosecutor noted.

This operation involved covert national officers acting as drug dealers with fake narcotics, which the defendants reportedly thought to be 25kg (55lb) of cocaine.

"They betrayed the public," declared a senior FBI official. "They betrayed the confidence that the people had in them, shamed the badge and undermined the efforts of honest police members across this state and region."

The arrests occur as U.S. officials have embarked on air strikes in South America against alleged drug traffickers.