Officials say 10 current and former metro Atlanta law enforcement officers are accused of accepting thousands of dollars to provide protection during drug deals.

U.S. Attorney Sally Yates said the arrests Tuesday came from a undercover federal investigation of an Atlanta-area street gang in August 2011

Agents learned from someone associated with the gang that officers were accepting cash payments to provide drug deal protection. Authorities say the payments were generally several thousand dollars per transaction, and some participated in several transactions.

Officials say the accused officers usually appeared in uniform and displayed a weapon. Some showed up in their police vehicles to patrol parking lots where the deals took place.

Federal agents worked with inside operators to arrange for officers to provide security for cocaine deals. Money was paid for sham cocaine and the transactions were recorded.