Suspected drug dealer arrested, $1.7M of drugs, guns seized in Manatee County's largest fentanyl bust: MCSO
BRADENTON, Fla. - A suspected drug dealer is behind bars and the search is on for another one following the largest fentanyl bust in Manatee County history.
Largest fentanyl bust in Manatee County history
The backstory:
In November 2024, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said it was investigating a fentanyl sale at a suspected drug house in Bradenton.
Detectives identified 23-year-old Maurice Baxter Jr. as one of the suspected drug dealers. They said they bought drugs using $14,000 of Safe funds during this investigation.
Courtesy: Manatee County Sheriff's Office
Suspected drug dealer charged
Dig deeper:
On March 13, 2025, Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells said the SWAT team executed a search warrant and detained 40-year-old Tron Williams, a known drug dealer in Manatee County. He said Williams was the only person in the house at the time.
Williams has been charged with trafficking in fentanyl, trafficking in meth, trafficking in cocaine and trafficking in MDMA.
Courtesy: Manatee County Sheriff's Office
"As you can see you’ve got fentanyl just in boxes, bags, sprawling out throughout the entire home," said Wells.
While searching the home, detectives said they found 12.3 kilos of fentanyl, including pharmaceutical-grade fentanyl used by doctors to treat pain, 1 kilo of cocaine, 1kilo of ecstasy, 273 grams of methamphetamine, 822 grams of marijuana and 29.4 grams of Adderall.
The fentanyl seized could have killed the population of the entire Tampa Bay area, according to Sheriff Wells.
What they're saying:
"You think about those drugs that were seized and how those drugs could be responsible for killing everyone in Manatee, Sarasota, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk County, Pasco, Hernando, Citrus," Wells explained. "We know that lives have been saved."
"These two drug dealers don’t care about lives," the sheriff added. "They don’t care about the families that they destroy and who they hurt. All they care about is making money. They can sell their poison and make money each and every day off of the addiction of some in our community, and they have no problem with that."
Guns and ammunition also seized
Wells said law enforcement officers also seized a vehicle and multiple guns, including an M5 handgun, which is also nicknamed the "cop killer" due to the ammunition it uses and its ability to go through certain types of body armor used by law enforcement.
He added that more than 1,000 rounds of various types of ammunition were found in Williams’ bedroom.
"These two drug dealers behind me don’t care about lives. They don’t care about the families that they destroy or who they hurt. All they care about is making money," said Wells.
Funds from the State Assistance for Fentanyl Eradication were used to assist investigators in the bust.
"SAFE program has proven to save lives statewide, since it took effect in 2023," said FDLE Special Agent in Charge Eli Lawson.
What's next:
Baxter has not been located, but there are warrants for his arrest.
Manatee County fentanyl bust press conference
Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells gives more information about the largest fentanyl bust in Manatee County history.
The Source: This story was written with information provided by the Manatee County Sheriff's Office.
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