Articles Posted in Drug Trafficking

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Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies and undercover detectives conducted a three day county-wide proactive initiative that focused on repeat offenders, drug offenders, offenders on probation and followed up on crime tips and crime trends.

After the three day operation, 101 suspects were arrested and 15 search warrants were served.

Of those detained, 92 are repeat offenders, with a total of 955 prior arrests and more than 1,500 criminal charges.

Deputies and detectives claim they were able to seize $13,378, six firearms, one vehicle, more than two pounds of marijuana and more than three ounces of methamphetamine and 45.1 grams of hydrocodone.

drug sweepThe 101 suspects arrested were charged with 325 offenses, including 180 felonies, 145 misdemeanors, 32 outstanding warrants for 32 felonies and 17 misdemeanors, 5 warrants from other jurisdictions and one fugitive from justice.

Nine of those arrested were currently on probation, and received a violation of probation charge in addition to other charges. According to police, more than 12 of those arrested had active warrants for violating probation.

Reports indicate that 40 of the suspects were receiving public assistance at the time of their arrest, and 32 out of the 101 have served time in prison before.

The investigation focused on Auburndale, Winter Haven, Lake Wales, Eloise, Frostproof and Lakeland areas of Polk County.

The sweep was part of the agency’s “Proactive Community Attack on Problems”, also known as the “PROCAP” program, that involves collecting daily crime data, studying trends in the data and delivering that information to supervisors and deputies.

When conducting a drug sweep, police usually raid homes and businesses where they believe drug activity is taking place. Numerous people can be arrested in these operations and charged with drug possession or distribution, as well as additional crimes like weapons charges and probation violations. While police may believe that those they are arrest are dealing drugs, many people caught up in these sweeps are innocent bystanders that have no direct connection to the drug trade.

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On Friday, a federal judge sentenced a south Florida doctor to more than six years in prison for her involvement in writing prescriptions for thousands of painkillers to addicts and drug dealers.

She was convicted of money laundering.

In July of 2013 a jury acquitted the 43-year-old woman and a 74-year-old man on charges that their roles in a chain of South Florida pain clinics led to the deaths of nine patients. They both faced up to life in prison and $2 million in fines.

pillsThe doctors and their defense team fought to prove that they were unaware of the conspiracy and were practicing medicine in line with state standards, which allow licensed physicians to dispense opioid pain pills without fear of punishment.

However, the jury convicted the pair of money laundering for their role in the “pill mill” scheme.

A U.S. District Judge sentenced the female doctor to 78 months in prison, while the man received 18 months. Both must also pay $10,000 in fines.

The woman’s lawyer says they plan to appeal the conviction.

The two doctors’ trial ended a four-year operation that targeted a slew of South Florida pain clinics that resulted in racketeering charges against 32 people in 2010.

The clinics owner is currently serving more than 17 years in prison and his brother and co-owner is serving more than 15. Both brothers testified on the government’s behalf.

At one point in time Florida had 90 of the top 100 oxycodone-purchasing physicians in the nation and 53 of the top 100 oxycodone-purchasing pharmacies.

The majority of these pills were pushed up the East Coast and sold at high markups in rural communities reaching from northern Alabama to western Pennsylvania. Interstate 95 was actually nicknamed Oxy Alley by dealers who frequently drove hundreds of miles to South Florida to buy cheap pain pills.

Florida law enforcement has been trying hard to crack down on the epidemic of prescription drug abuse within recent years. However, the restriction on painkillers has led to more heroin abuse.

Deaths from heroin rose 89 percent in Florida, from 62 in 2011 to 117 in 2012, according to a report by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. According to reports, the heroin problem in south Florida has reached epidemic proportions.

Money laundering is a very serious federal crime that entails taking unlawfully obtained money and working to incorporate it so it appears to come from a lawful source. In general, money laundering involves a string of various financial transactions and multiple bank accounts. Today’s technology only makes these cases that much more complex, oftentimes complicating paper trails and making many Internet transactions harder to trace.

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A 32-year-old former Florida Department of Law Enforcement crime lab analyst was arrested Tuesday on charges of grand theft, 12 counts of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and nine counts of trafficking illegal drugs.

Investigators allege the man replaced prescription pain pills with over-the-counter medications while processing drug cases.

The former Pensacola crime laboratory chemist is currently free on bond.

prescription pills

If you or someone you know or love has been charged with tampering with evidence in Hernando, Lake, Marion, Osceola, Pasco or Sumter counties, a Florida Criminal Defense Attorney at Whittel & Melton can make sure you know what to expect from your case.

The man was arrested at the Escambia County Jail around 6:30 p.m. His bail was set at $290,000.

FDLE agents claim that since 2006 the accused processed 2,600 cases that crossed 35 counties in Florida, including Hernando, Lake, Marion, Osceola, Pasco and Sumter. On Monday, 80 agencies were alerted of the alleged tampering.

St. Cloud police said that they are reviewing 16 cases from several years ago that could be linked to this case.

The investigation apparently began Thursday, Jan. 30 when Escambia investigators noticed that there were prescription pain pills missing from the evidence locker room.

The accused was relieved of duty Friday, Jan. 31 and issued his resignation Monday asking the agency to issue any money owed to him.

According to the FDLE, additional charges could be filed pending the results of this ongoing investigation.

These charges are undoubtedly serious. If convicted of tampering with evidence, this could remain on your criminal background for the rest of your life. Despite the circumstances surrounding your case, by being accused of this crime, you run the risk of being permanently labeled someone who destroyed or concealed evidence. Because of the severity of the charges, you must make sure and give tampering with evidence charges the attention they deserve.

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Police arrested two men on Thursday for allegedly trafficking cocaine and a slew of other charges following a routine traffic stop.

Members of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office Tactical Investigations Unit apparently witnessed a driver not utilizing proper signals in the 4000 block of West State Road 40. Police claim the vehicle was weaving, swerving and crossing the fog line multiple times. Detectives pulled the driver over in the 7000 block of the highway and allegedly seized drugs and firearms.

According to officials, they detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from the car and that one of the occupants seemed nervous. The men were asked to exit the vehicle.
While authorities were searching a 28-year-old Ocala man they allegedly found two clear plastic bags containing marijuana, according to the arrest report.

Detectives claim they recovered two loaded firearms and 42 grams of cocaine from inside the vehicle. Reports indicate that one of the guns found, a Springfield Armory Model XD, had been reported stolen.

cocaine baggie betch.jpgThe Ocala man told a detective he had purchased the Springfield for $140. He apparently denied ownership of the second gun, an H&R Inc. Gardner Model 632, or the cocaine.

The man was charged with trafficking cocaine, carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of marijuana less than 20 grams.

The driver of the car, a 19-year-old Ocala man, was also was arrested. He was charged with armed trafficking of cocaine, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and carrying a concealed weapon.

Trafficking cocaine is classified as a felony in Marion County and throughout the state of Florida. Police and prosecutors usually seek maximum sentences in drug trafficking cases. In order to obtain a conviction, prosecutors do not have to actually prove that the defendant intended to sell or distribute cocaine, just that there was enough of the drug in the person’s possession that could indicate it was to be sold. This is an offense that is not taken lightly and the penalties attached could significantly impact your future, and not for the better.

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The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office has arrested more than 60 people, including the alleged ringleader, in one of the largest and most complex prescription drug fraud rings in Sarasota County to date.

The alleged leader, 35, was recently charged with conspiracy to traffic controlled substances as part of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office’s Operation Main Pain. The others arrested were charged with obtaining and trafficking controlled substances.

The man, who is currently in jail in Dade County on unrelated charges, is accused of running a large drug crime ring in 2011, according to Sheriff’s Office.

Detectives allege that from June to October that year, the man wrote approximately 220 prescriptions that were exchanged for nearly 20,000 oxycodone pills at local pharmacies primarily in Sarasota and Venice.

There were 91 oxycodone overdose deaths reported in 2011, according to Sgt. Debra Kaspar, head of the Pharmaceutical Diversion Unit.

prescription pad.jpgThe man is accused of recruiting people to work beneath him and locate runners, predominately of Cuban descent, who were paid for their personal information or to drive people to the different pharmacies to pick up prescriptions. According to the arrest report, those that gave their permission to use their personal information on prescriptions were paid $100 to $300. The others that drove people to the pharmacies to pick up oxycodone, ibuprofen or Xanax pills were paid up to $2,000 per week. All transactions were paid in cash.

The recruiters allegedly gathered the pills from the runners and gave them to the accused ringleader.

The pills had a street value of $300,000, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Detectives claim that the alleged ringleader was selling the drugs to drug dealers, who would then sell them or send them off to other locations.

The sudden flood of prescriptions apparently came to a halt a few months after one of the alleged ringleader’s recruits was arrested.

Arrests have been ongoing since 2011, with some of the most recent arrests occurring last week. Detectives claim there are several warrants that are still active.

Two of the pharmacies involved apparently filled more than 200 of the fraudulent prescriptions in the short time period. Three other pharmacies involved filled 10 prescriptions total.

The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office says it works to educate pharmacies to notice red flags. Detectives claim the pharmacies should have noticed something suspicious when so many related prescriptions were being brought in by similar customers from the same doctor.

However, the pharmacies apparently never notified authorities.

Obtaining a Controlled Substance by Fraud, also known as “Doctor Shopping” has become a trending criminal offense in Sarasota County and throughout the state of Florida. With the ever increasing amounts of suspected prescription drug abuse, police officers are placed under a tremendous amount of pressure to locate any alleged offenders as well as the pharmacies filling these prescriptions. In fact, tracking systems have been developed to monitor patient’s medical records and pharmacy histories. While these electronic databases help law enforcement maintain tabs on the amount of prescriptions being prescribed and filled, they place doctors and patients at risk for being charged with a prescription drug crime, even if the prescription is valid.

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The Collier County Sheriff’s Office arrested the father of two young girls after they apparently found him growing marijuana in the same home where he and his two daughters, 7 and 10 years old, lived.

Police claim the 40-year-old man’s Golden Gate Estates home off Wilson Boulevard appears to be your typical suburban residence, but the backyard houses an elaborate grow house that is not visible to passersby.

Detectives allege that inside the structure they found 20 mature plants and 158 pounds of marijuana, worth a street value of $60,000. The man apparently used $10,000 in equipment and fertilizers to grow the marijuana.

grow house.jpgAccording to the incident report, the man told police he and his two daughters live in the home. The children were not home at the time of the arrest and are now staying with other family members.

The Naples man is facing charges of marijuana trafficking in excess of 25 pounds, possession of narcotics equipment and drug producing with a minor present. A judge issued the man a $102,000 bond.

If you are charged with operating a marijuana grow house, this does not automatically mean you will be charged with trafficking. The state of Florida bases drug trafficking charges on the weight of the drug. The trafficking ceiling for marijuana in Florida is 300 plants or 25 pounds. If you have been charged with operating a grow house, you could also face trafficking charges should you be found in possession of 300 or more plants or if the plant material weighs 25 or more pounds. Florida statutes provide that possessing 25 or more marijuana plants indicates that the drugs are not intended for personal use, but for sale.

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This week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Florida v. Harris, a case originating in Calhoun County circuit court. At issue was whether a K-9’s alert could establish probable cause for a warrantless search of a car. Under review was the Florida Supreme Court’s opinion that a K-9 alert could establish probable cause–but only after the Government produced a long litany of evidence during the suppression hearing to support the reliability of the K-9’s training. The U.S. Supreme Court Justices, in a unanimous decision, disagreed with this exhaustive checklist, ruling it was inconsistent with a common sense approach to probable cause. Aldo, the drug-sniffing dog at the center of the case, was deemed reliable by the trial court and ultimately, the highest court upheld Mr. Harris’ conviction for possessing pseudoephedrine for use in manufacturing methamphetamine.

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In this case, an officer with a canine partner stopped a truck for a minor traffic violation, and sensed that the driver might be on drugs. Because the truck’s driver refused to let the officer search the truck, the officer led Aldo around the exterior of the vehicle. The dog made movements that showed he smelled something suspicious on the driver-side door handle. Taking that as a signal that drugs were inside the truck, the officer checked out the interior, and found a stash of drug-making equipment.

Law Enforcement across Florida utilize trained dogs for a variety of law-enforcement tasks, including investigation in potential drug-trafficking cases. Dogs can be trained to react, by specific kinds of movements, sometimes called an alert, when they smell an odor that emanates from a stash of drugs. What is important to understand is that K-9s do not smell drugs; they smell odors. When they show that they have picked up the scent, that usually leads the police officers to follow up with a search to see if drugs are, in fact, present in such a spot. Normally, police can use a drug-sniffing dog without having to get a search warrant from a judge–especially if the officers are in the field and having to get a warrant would frustrate the investigation.

The impact of this ruling will be minimal, as it maintains the status quo in Florida. The Florida Supreme Court’s ruling that was under review was in direct opposition to the law in 48 other states on this issue, and this opinion essentially aligns Florida with the rest of the United States. One upside for defendants is that the Supreme Court also held that the accused must have the opportunity in court to challenge the dependability of the training evidence and to test whether the police handler might have “cued” the dog to make an alert. Thus, the bottom line of the ruling was that the dog does not always win, if the accused individual can undercut its training record.

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Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for 991548_prescription_bottle_-_blank_label.jpgAn Orlando doctor accused of hosting wild sex and drug parties at his Hunter’s Creek home pleaded guilty to a slew of criminal charges Monday in exchange for 10 years in prison.

The 57-year-old man was arrested in October 2010 by the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation as part of a crackdown on doctors who were overprescribing highly addictive drugs, such as the painkiller oxycodone.

The MBI claims their initial investigation eventually lead to the doctor being charged with more than a dozen crimes, ranging from racketeering to drug charges to insurance fraud.

Agents allegedly interviewed several women who claim they became addicted to oxycodone after being prescribed the drug by the Orlando physician.

One woman apparently told agents that she was invited to one of the doctor’s parties during her third office visit. Another woman alleges the doctor paid her daughter to be videotaped wearing lingerie.

A search of the physician’s home apparently yielded more than 1,400 oxycodone tablets, cocaine, handguns, more than $37,000 and an electronic money counter.

The doctor pleaded guilty to several crimes on Monday, including trafficking in oxycodone, purchasing prostitution and patient brokering.

Prosecutors with the State Attorney’s office informed the court that the doctor used his practice to purchase oxycodone and other drugs, which he prescribed to women who became addicted.

The doctor is also accused of trying to hide money from law enforcement by transferring money into several different bank accounts.

Without the plea agreement, the physician could have faced 156 years in prison.

Recently, the state of Florida has started pursuing doctors in their efforts to combat prescription drug crimes. In these “pill mill” operations, law enforcement officers focus on investigating physicians they believe are distributing prescriptions to addicts or healthy patients who do not need prescription drugs. In addition to prison time and steep fines, medical professionals charged with prescription drug crimes run the risk of losing their license, careers and reputation.

Physicians and other medical professionals can be slapped with various prescription drug charges as a result of state and federal crackdowns, including:

• Incorrectly Documenting Patient History
• Over-Prescribing Pills
• Not Checking Patient Records for Previous Incidents of “Doctor Shopping”
• Prescribing Unnecessary Medications
As part of the war on drugs, the government prosecutes those believed to be pushing pain pills quite harshly. Trafficking in oxycodone carries severe mandatory minimum prison sentences. While oxycodone trafficking carries a maximum prison term of 30 years, a mandatory minimum sentence can range from 3 to 25 years in prison depending on the amount found in your possession.

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A 46-year-old Tallahassee doctor was sentenced to 25 years in prison Friday for his involvement in a prescription pill trafficking operation.

The man was also ordered to pay a $500,000 fine and investigative and prosecutorial costs.

According to the Florida Office of the Attorney General, the illegal operation was to blame for disbursing large quantities of prescription drugs throughout western Florida.

The physician apparently pled guilty to conspiring to traffic in 28 grams or more of oxycodone in October 2011. He was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.

The Osceola County Investigative Bureau, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, the Sarasota Police Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement claim they began investigating the doctor in 2010. Their alleged investigation revealed the doctor was selling prescriptions for large amounts of oxycodone to a group of associates who would fill the prescriptions and then disburse the pills on the streets of Sarasota.

One of the doctor’s co-defendants was sentenced to 25 years in state prison for his role in the operation and another co-defendant is awaiting sentencing.

Drug trafficking in the State of Florida describes the sale, delivery, possession or manufacturing of illegal drugs and controlled substances over a certain weight or amount. The consequences associated with a drug trafficking charge can vary from a minimum of three years to a maximum of a life sentence in prison, depending on the type of drug and the quantity. Sentences are established by the weight value of the total pills in question. At minimum, a trafficking charge of oxycodone is a three year mandatory prison sentence with a fine of $50,000 and a maximum of 25 years in prison plus a fine of $500,000.

In many drug trafficking cases in Florida, the State will seek conspiracy charges to be filed in addition to trafficking charges in order to obtain convictions not only for trafficking pills, but an agreement to traffic drugs. The conspiracy to traffic drugs can be difficult to understand because most drug charges require for the prosecution to prove that the accused was in possession of the drugs in question at some point. However, a conspiracy to traffic drugs charge can be proven solely by establishing that an agreement existed to carry out a drug-related criminal act. In fact, the act does not have to even be completed to be convicted of conspiracy.

The Florida Prescription Drug Trafficking Attorneys at Whittel & Melton can thoroughly review the facts of your case and explore all possible defenses to combat the charges against you. We will review any evidence and police reports to consider the following:

• Did law enforcement play a role in initiating your participation in the conspiracy?

• Did the conspiracy solely entail verbal agreements, or were there acts in furtherance of the conspiracy?

• Was the agreement terminated or dismissed before an arrest was made?

• Were wiretaps involved, and if so were they legal?

• Was the warrant obtained legal?

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Six Citrus County, Florida residents have been arrested and are facing various drug charges after investigations conducted by the Sheriff’s Office and the CCSO’s Tactical Impact Unit and Pharmacy Diversion Unit revealed illegal dealings of prescription narcotics.

The arrests ranged from doctor shopping to hydrocodone trafficking. Several of the supposed suspects, ranging in age from 22 to 57, are accused of selling cocaine and other substances as well as selling their prescription pills for a profit.

A CCSO spokesperson mentioned that the introduction of Florida’s new prescription drug monitoring program E-FORCSE or Electronic – Florida Online Reporting of Controlled Substances Evaluation makes it easier than ever to monitor who may be doctor shopping. Law enforcement agents, doctors and pharmacists can use the program to see what drugs patients are receiving and from what doctors.

Doctor shopping also known as Obtaining a Controlled Substance by Fraud has become an increasingly popular charge in Florida. Due to the large amount of pressure placed upon law enforcement to track down those suspected of prescription drug abuse, new tracking systems have been developed to monitor patient’s medical records and pharmacy histories. These amped up security measures put doctors as well as patients at a greater risk for being accused of committing a prescription drug crime. Electronic databases put even patients given legal prescriptions to treat an injury or illness in jeopardy of a drug crime arrest.

Doctor shopping, in general, is when a patient visits multiple doctors to gain access to multiple prescriptions. It is illegal for patients to visit different doctors without disclosing that information to them, even if they are under the care of several physicians for legitimate reasons. In the State of Florida, doctor shopping is classified as a third-degree felony that carries mandatory penalties and could include up to five years in State Prison. In addition, the State can charge every transaction as a separate crime, which could result in multiple consecutive sentences.

The Florida Drug Crimes Defense Lawyers at Whittel & Melton are experienced with how the State Attorney’s Office investigates these types of crimes and will work to get your charges related to doctor shopping or any other type of drug charge reduced or dismissed. As trial attorneys, we treat every case as if it is going to trial and can provide you with a solid defense no matter what the circumstances are surrounding your arrest.

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