Investigators working across multiple agencies have arrested 11 people and seized enough fentanyl in Florida to kill over 1.7 million. They also seized 12 kilograms of cocaine (~26.5 pounds) and two firearms.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office says they worked with partner agencies at the local, state, and federal levels to achieve the bust, which centered on Maximo Espinosa.
Espinosa, previously arrested for armed heroin trafficking, is alleged to be the head of a drug trafficking organization running cocaine and fentanyl in kilo amounts across Florida, the northeastern United States, Puerto Rico, and Mexico.
Other players caught in the sting included Pedro Mejia and Omar Veloz, both already on probation for federal drug trafficking offenses.
In a separate investigation into the alleged Colon-Colon Drug Trafficking Organization, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested another six people allegedly involved in cocaine trafficking.
Suspected ringleader Roosevelt Colon-Colon was caught trying to throw away a handgun after law enforcement descended on a drug deal arranged by an undercover officer. Associate Julio Arroyo Rodriguez was also found to be carrying a loaded 9mm when he was arrested.
The Sheriff’s Office says they seized over two kilos of cocaine (~4.5 pounds) during the Colon-Colon sting.
Leading presidential candidate Donald Trump believes Joe Biden’s lax border policies are fueling the explosion in drug trafficking in recent years, warning that the drugs crisis and migrants carrying infectious diseases are “poisoning the blood” of the country.