A Beeville man and his wife spent Thanksgiving in jail last week after a SWAT team raided their home and found illegal narcotics packaged for sale, police reported.

Tommy Wilson Cole, 38, and Sarah Cantu Cole, 22, were charged with various offenses, including:

• manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance, between one gram and four grams of cocaine, in a drug free zone — a first degree felony offense punishable by up to 99 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

• tampering with physical evidence with the intent to impair its use as evidence — a third degree felony offense punishable by up to two years in a state jail and a $10,000 fine. They are accused of attempting to flush the drugs down the toilet.

• possession of marijuana, less than two ounces, a class A misdemeanor.

• possession of dangerous drugs, prescription pills not prescribed to them, a class A misdemeanor.

• possession of drug paraphernalia – bongs, plastic baggies, digital scale — a class C misdemeanor.

• possession of gambling device or equipment — a class A misdemeanor. They are accused of possessing a football pool pot.

• possession of a controlled substance, under 28 grams of prescription medicine not prescribed to them – pills – in a drug free zone, a state jail felony.

Police Chief Joe Treviño said the department’s SWAT team conducted the raid after receiving a number of tips from callers concerned about possible illicit drug activity at the couple’s trailer home.

Treviño said the BPD’s narcotics unit spent several weeks investigating the allegations before seeking a search and arrest warrant from a local magistrate.

The SWAT team arrived at the couple’s trailer home, located in the 500 block of South Adams Street, around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 25.

Tommy Cole was leaving the trailer home when officers arrived, and he went back inside and locked the door, Treviño reported.

Fearing any illegal drugs would be flushed down the toilet, an officer raced to the rear of the home and removed the sewage pipe leading to the toilet, the chief recounted.

“We recovered eight baggies containing cocaine,” he said. “The officer pulled the pipe away from the toilet and the baggies fell right out — plop, plop, plop.”

Once officers entered the home, the Coles were taken into custody without problem, Trevinõ said.

Officers also recovered about $1,300 in cash.

He described the Coles as frequent drug dealers.

“They’re not exactly small-time dealers; they do it more frequently than that, from what we understand,” he said.

The Coles’ school-age children were not at home at the time of the raid and subsequent arrest of their parents, Treviño added.

The Coles were released on bond on Friday. However, police discovered Friday that Tommy Cole was on parole at the time and he was re-arrested Tuesday without incident.

“We got a call Monday from his parole officer who notified us he was on parole,” the chief explained. “Apparently, he had been convicted of aggravated robbery and had served time in prison. He had used a shotgun in the robbery.”

Once officers discovered Tommy Cole’s violent criminal history, they made it a “top priority to get him off the streets,” Treviño said.