Hard to say what’s more impressive – the scope of the law enforcement task force or the size of this particular fentanyl ring. And to have it all go down in Central Florida. Well, no matter. Because the good guys won. The fentanyl ring was undone. And 40 “scumbags” were taken off the street, along with a massive amount of narcotics, including over 2300 grams of fent.
If anyone’s counting, that’s enough fent to wipe out the entire city of San Diego.
Really.
So says Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood in a customarily colorful press conference following the arrests. Sheriff Chitwood had some other choice words too, including calling the arrestees “scumbags,” and insisting they deserve no sympathy whatsoever.
Fentanyl Ring
The fentanyl ring was brought down under the guise of Operation Daly Dose. Named for drug ring point man Drew Daly, who allegedly got his drugs from Vernon Woodward II and Preston Ingram (who were also arrested), the operation’s task force included members from the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, the Volusia Bureau of Investigation, the West Volusia Narcotics Task Force, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, as well as the FBI, DEA and Homeland Security. IN other words, this multi-jurisdictional investigation ran the gamut – and then some.
In fact, the task force estimates that the fentanyl ring had been “coming in and destroying” Central Florida at the rate of six to eight kilos a month since the investigation began.
“There should be no sympathy or no kind of anything for what these scumbags are doing to our community,” Chitwood added.
There won’t be. Not if the suspects are convicted of even a portion of the charges, which include:
- Armed trafficking in fentanyl
- Armed trafficking in methamphetamine
- Armed trafficking in cocaine
- Armed trafficking in MDMA
- Armed trafficking in heroin
- Use of two-way communication device
- Possession of firearm by convicted felon
- Conspiracy to introduce contraband into county intake facility
- Trafficking in stolen property
No Holds Barred
The incredibly outspoken Sheriff Michael Chitwood, who blames “porous borders” as much as he lauds Florida’s current power structure, seems to believe the United States needs to respond as if these dealers were terrorists.
“If a terrorist camp was established in Mexico and some of their members came up and blew themselves up at the Speedway, we’d be blowing that camp off the face of the earth. And yet these mega drug labs in Mexico are allowed to produce methamphetamine and fentanyl and other synthetic drugs and ship ‘em up across our border while we sit on our hands thinking this arrest is going to change the world.”
“It’s not” continued Sheriff Chitwood. “Things will dry up for in Volusia County for awhile, but someone else is going to step up to the plate. So until you go back to the source and wipe it off the map, we’re going to be chasing our tails. If that’s a Chitwoodism, then take it for what it’s worth.”
But don’t simply take our word for it. Tune in and watch the entire press conference yourself. After all, the good folks at Fox 35 Orlando posted it up on YouTube for just that reason. The station also provided a lot of supporting data in their full on coverage.
If you or a loved one are having problems with fentanyl or other drugs please give us a ring. Healing Properties has been helping men find true sobriety since 2002; we’d be honored to help you too.
Image: Yahoo News/WOFL