St. Pete Police Bust Drug Ring That Filled 18-Wheelers With Narcotics
Wanna get an idea how much drugs flow into the Bay area every day? In their latest bust, St. Petersburg Police have described a scale of drug delivery that’s difficult for most of us to imagine.
The St. Pete PD announced yesterday that they have successfully infiltrated and broken up a huge crime enterprise in our region that was run by a violent drug gang. The gang is being blamed for millions of dollars worth of various drugs being smuggled into the very heart of our communities.
St. Pete Police teamed up with federal, state and local authorities to arrest 26 suspects, accusing them of trafficking in narcotics and other drugs in Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota counties. Investigators say the drug ring received huge shipments from California every week, often twice a week. The shipments were driven across the country and dropped off in Hillsborough County. Once the illegal drugs reached our area, the load was divided into smaller portions and placed into typical passenger vehicles. Once the vehicles were filled, they were driven into St. Petersburg.
I know you wanna know specifics about the seized shipments, so here we go. Officers confiscated 1,800 pounds of marijuana, 42 grams of crack cocaine, 40 grams of powdered cocaine, 5 grams of methamphetamine, over 1,000 grams of THC wax, 7 pounds of promethazine, 252 BU crystals, and…get this…$360,000 in cash. But that’s not where the seizure ends. In the midst of all of the drugs, investigators found 15 firearms.
All of the firearms were tested and one was found to have played a part in two recent shootings in Hillsborough County. Tampa Bay Special Agent Mark Brutnell vowed that this bust is the first of many huge victories and that many more arrests will be coming soon. Source: WFLA.com