A former Vicksburg police sergeant has been arrested in Hawaii and charged with extortion, the FBI said.

Kevin Dewayne Williams, 36, a U.S. Army military police officer serving in Oahu, was arrested Monday in his barracks.

Williams is accused of protecting, from November 2002 until May 2003, what he believed to be drug shipments. He was employed with the Vicksburg Police Department at the time.

The shipments were part of an undercover investigation involving the FBI, Vicksburg police and the Warren County Sheriff’s Department.

&#8220It had been an ongoing investigation that I, as well as the sheriff, had participated in for several years,” Vicksburg Police Chief Tommy Moffett said. &#8220One of the things that I attempted to do from the time I came here (in 2001) was to get rid of any corruption in the police department. We have worked in conjunction with the FBI to accomplish that.”

Williams was indicted by a federal grand jury March 6 on extortion charges. He was to have appeared before a judge Monday. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine in addition to the forfeiture of unspecified personal property.

&#8220Those who are sworn to uphold the law are certainly not excepted from it,” Stephen F. Gomez, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Mississippi, said in a press release. &#8220The FBI is committed to uncovering public corruption at all levels of government and holding those responsible and accountable.”

Sheriff Martin Pace said although the investigation involved the sheriff’s office and police department, the FBI has taken the lead on the case, and all charges will be prosecuted in federal court.