Florida is a hot spot for fentanyl trafficking, authorities say
TAMPA - A major fentanyl bust in Polk County led to more than 60 arrests, but the problem with opioids spans much further than one county.
Florida is a hot spot for fentanyl networking, according to state law enforcement investigators. Polk County deputies executed search warrants last week at Rooske's Bait Shop and Rooske Motorcycle Parts and Repair Shop in north Lakeland. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said the businesses were run by Pilar Rivera and Hector Torres, using them as a front for fentanyl trafficking and money laundering.
"When we started this on January 12, 2021, we were working the street and all of a sudden our detectives said oh my gosh, these folks are cracking out 500 to 1,000 bags of this a day in Lakeland from this one operation," said Judd.
But they soon realized the operation was much bigger. The sheriff says it crossed county lines, and it ended in the arrest of 64 people.
"We see two names in red here. This drug killed at least two people from fentanyl overdose," said Judd.
Fentanyl has gripped our communities in Tampa Bay, its network far-reaching.
"It’s coming out of Mexico. Sinaloa is where a lot of it’s coming from. It’s coming into California. It’s being distributed," said Judd, who attributed the movement of fentanyl through the Los Angeles airport.
Polk County is not the only place feeling the impact.
"Fentanyl is flooding the streets of the United States. And there’s an increase in overdose deaths and it’s continuing to increase," said Deanne Reuter, special agent in charge with the Drug Enforcement Administration Miami Field Division during Tampa police’s Operation Overdrive press conference on May 7.
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Last month, Tampa police helped dismantle a drug trafficking operation that led to a drop in not just Narcan use, but also overdose deaths.
"We have seized enough fentanyl in our federal cases and our related law enforcement operations to kill every single person in this district five times over," said Roger Handberg, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida on May 7.
The work is far from over. State investigators laid out the results of a state initiative targeting fentanyl in its first year.
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"We’ve seized over 37 kilos of fentanyl, 30,000 fentanyl pills, 55 kilos of cocaine, 20 kilograms of methamphetamine, almost $500,000 in currency seized," said Mark Brutnell, the special agent in charge at FDLE’s Tampa office.
Brutnell referenced their work as part of the SAFE initiative or State Assistance for Fentanyl Eradication. He said Polk County is a big part of those numbers to get fentanyl off our streets.
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