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Lakewood Times

Lakewood Times

Lakewood Times

    Biggest drug bust in Florida county history

    Biggest drug bust in Florida county history

    Police in Florida issued arrest warrants for over 100 members of a suspected drug gang on Wednesday. They seized enough fentanyl to wipe out the entirety of Brevard County, population of 543,376. Brevard County is located on Florida’s east-central coast and is the 10th most populated county in Florida. Dozens of the gang members have been taken into custody and bused to prison, including the six alleged ringleaders.

    The 104 arrest warrants concluded a months-long investigation by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the bust marked the biggest drug seizure in the county’s history. The number of opiates seized was “enough to kill every single resident of Brevard County,” which has an estimated population of about 590,000 people, according to police.

    The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office also stated there were over 70 firearms, 9 pounds of methamphetamine, 3 pounds of fentanyl (a value over $100,000), and an undisclosed amount of heroin. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that can be up to 100 times more powerful than morphine. As little as .2 milligrams can be fatal. The drugs altogether had an estimated street value of at least $181,000.

    We talked to Senior Jared Yocabet, and asked his opinion on the drug scene in Lakewood compared to Florida. Jared commented, “You never hear about big busts like this anywhere around here.” He would go on to say, “It’s not a bad thing, If we don’t hear about it then it must mean they’re doing something right.”

     

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