Virginia state senator indicted, accused of leading a marijuana distribution enterprise

Virginia state senator Lillie Louise Lucas was indicted Thursday on eight counts that include Drug Trafficking, Money Laundering, Fraud, and Firearms Charges after being accused of running a marijuana distribution enterprise, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. 

Lucas is among seven indicted in the sprawling racketeering scheme. 

"Louise Lucas has served in a position of public trust in the Commonwealth of Virginia for over three decades," Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a DOJ statement. 

"The charges alleged in this indictment reveal the behavior of a public servant who put her own financial interests before the people she was elected to serve. Our federal prosecutors will continue to be guided by the facts and evidence that led a grand jury to indict Ms. Lucas and her alleged co-conspirators."

The DOJ said 82-year-old Lucas led the Lucas Enterprise with a close-knit group of friends and family that included her two daughters and a grandson. 

"[They] orchestrated a multi-year scheme to enrich their own criminal marijuana enterprise, ‘the Lucas Enterprise’ – using Lucas’ position as Chairwoman of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee to insulate the enterprise from criminal scrutiny and influencing legislation to financially benefit themselves," FBI Director Kash Patel said in the statement. 

Lucas, who has served as a Virginia state senator since 1991, was directly involved in a wide range of activities within the enterprise, including the acquisition and distribution of 100 kilograms or more of marijuana and for the laundering of the drug sales proceeds, the DOJ said.

The DOJ will hold a press conference announcing the indictment Thursday morning, which you can view here on FoxNews.com. 

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This is a breaking news story and will be updated shortly.