The Martin County Sheriff’s Office says deputies just made the largest seizure of fentanyl ever after finding 2.5 pounds of the deadly drug during a bust on Wednesday. The Martin County Sheriff’s Office says a confidential informant told detectives three men from New York were traveling to Stuart to bring $300,000 worth of fentanyl to the Treasure Coast. In exchange, they were set to receive $38,000.Detectives arrested all three of those men and seized 2.5 pounds of fentanyl, which is a Martin County record for a single drug bust. "I don’t really think that narco-traffickers in New York are listening to me right now, but I can tell this to my community who depends on me to keep this poison out of the schools and away from their homes- not in my small town,” said Martin County Sheriff William Snyder.The arrests happened after noon on Wednesday outside the Walmart on Federal Highway in Stuart.Deputies say Jeffry Ezequil Gonzalez-Ortiz tried to run when deputies surrounded the suspects, but he was caught. Carlos Antonio Almonte-Melo and Yelson Daniel Alvarez-Ortiz were arrested without incident.Deputies say the three men are from the Bronx and tried to transport the fentanyl to Stuart, but criminal informants wearing recording devices worked with law enforcement to help detectives gather evidence, which led to the arrests. The fentanyl was made into 10,000 pressed pills that looked like oxycontin. "When I walked up to that car and saw that bag containing what turned out to be 2.5 pounds, I was absolutely flabbergasted," Snyder said. "We’re used to five pills, six pills, seven pills. 10,000? That’s unheard of and dangerous, extremely dangerous."The sheriff says this bust highlights the problem of fentanyl flooding South Florida streets.The department reports there were 51 fentanyl-related overdoses and 26 deaths last year in Martin County and there have been 49 fentanyl-related overdoses and 19 deaths in Martin County this year, though this year's numbers could rise based on toxicology results in open investigations. The sheriff says Wednesday’s arrests were a step in the right direction, but much more needs to be done."This is a battle that we won, but this is a war that we are continuing to wage and there is no end in sight,” Snyder said. “We’re working with other agencies and partners in this endeavor. We do think this is a major trafficking organization with tentacles throughout South Florida, so we are just one county in a multitude of counties where this narcotics is being trafficked."The sheriff says each of the three men arrested face at least 25 years in prison. Right now, they each have a $200,000 bond.
MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. —
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office says deputies just made the largest seizure of fentanyl ever after finding 2.5 pounds of the deadly drug during a bust on Wednesday.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office says a confidential informant told detectives three men from New York were traveling to Stuart to bring $300,000 worth of fentanyl to the Treasure Coast. In exchange, they were set to receive $38,000.
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Detectives arrested all three of those men and seized 2.5 pounds of fentanyl, which is a Martin County record for a single drug bust.
"I don’t really think that narco-traffickers in New York are listening to me right now, but I can tell this to my community who depends on me to keep this poison out of the schools and away from their homes- not in my small town,” said Martin County Sheriff William Snyder.
The arrests happened after noon on Wednesday outside the Walmart on Federal Highway in Stuart.
Deputies say Jeffry Ezequil Gonzalez-Ortiz tried to run when deputies surrounded the suspects, but he was caught. Carlos Antonio Almonte-Melo and Yelson Daniel Alvarez-Ortiz were arrested without incident.
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Courtesy: Martin County Sheriff's Office
Deputies say the three men are from the Bronx and tried to transport the fentanyl to Stuart, but criminal informants wearing recording devices worked with law enforcement to help detectives gather evidence, which led to the arrests.
The fentanyl was made into 10,000 pressed pills that looked like oxycontin.
"When I walked up to that car and saw that bag containing what turned out to be 2.5 pounds, I was absolutely flabbergasted," Snyder said. "We’re used to five pills, six pills, seven pills. 10,000? That’s unheard of and dangerous, extremely dangerous."
The sheriff says this bust highlights the problem of fentanyl flooding South Florida streets.
The department reports there were 51 fentanyl-related overdoses and 26 deaths last year in Martin County and there have been 49 fentanyl-related overdoses and 19 deaths in Martin County this year, though this year's numbers could rise based on toxicology results in open investigations.
The sheriff says Wednesday’s arrests were a step in the right direction, but much more needs to be done.
"This is a battle that we won, but this is a war that we are continuing to wage and there is no end in sight,” Snyder said. “We’re working with other agencies and partners in this endeavor. We do think this is a major trafficking organization with tentacles throughout South Florida, so we are just one county in a multitude of counties where this narcotics is being trafficked."
The sheriff says each of the three men arrested face at least 25 years in prison. Right now, they each have a $200,000 bond.
