By Austin L. Miller
Staff writer
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| Cyndi Chambers/Star-Banner Lt. Brian Spivey, left, along with Sheriff Chris Blair, describes the operation that netted illegal drugs, weapons, and money shipped through the US Postal Service to Central Florida. |
Drugs valued at nearly $750,000, six weapons and thousands of dollars in cash were seized, and 14 people were arrested, in a month-long operation conducted by the Marion County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Postal Service.
The announcement was made at the Sheriff's Office, where the confiscated items were displayed during a press conference.
“The results are quite impressive,” said Sheriff Chris Blair in addressing the media.
Since assuming office in January 2013, Blair has formed the Crime Suppression Unit – comprised of the Tactical Investigations Unit, Fugitive Apprehension Unit, Property Crimes Unit and Drug Interdiction Unit – with a goal of reducing crime, arresting those who commit crimes and removing drugs from the streets of Marion County.
Lt. Brian Spivey, one of the supervisors within the Crime Suppression Unit, said the cooperative operation went from Jan. 13 through Feb. 12, during which time the agency worked with the U.S. Postal Service to find the drugs and then find the recipients and arrest them.
Spivey said the USPS mission for the operation was to remove drugs and weapons from the mail, keep the mail safe, and protect their employees from harm.
Spivey said a postal inspector came to Marion County and, with detectives from the Tactical Investigations and Drug Interdiction units, examined numerous packages, looking for any that might contain drugs. The packages that were identified as containing drugs - which came from throughout the United States - were delivered to addresses within the county. Some of the addresses were for vacant homes.
When anyone would pick up one of the packages, that person would be detained and the officers would obtain search warrants for the packages. Most of the deliveries were made to residents in the area of Silver Springs Shores, authorities said.
Officials said most of the names and addresses listed for where the packages originated from were fake. Those that were not fake were shared with law enforcement agencies in those areas.
Items found during the operation included a rifle and five handguns, three of which had been reported stolen to the Sheriff's Office. Also 300 Viagra pills; 370 Cialis pills; 79 oxycodone pills; 36 methadone pills; two kilograms of powered K2, which is a form of synthetic marijuana; 25 ½ pounds of synthetic marijuana; a ½ kilogram of cocaine; and 69 ½ pounds of high and low grade marijuana. Authorities also found $6,611 in cash.
The people arrested during the operation were Kirkland Small, 37; Joseph Buddington, 27; Grechen Walker, 27; Ralph Blackmon, 59; Dexter Lewis, 50; Julian Mesa, 24; Joshua Moore, 34; Dwayne Lambert, 27; brothers Kadir and Zayd Pollins, ages 19 and 24, respectively; Angel Marin, 24; Justin Ojeda, 35; Mitchell Davis, 26; and Amos Oliver, 31.
The charges against them range from possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute, to possession of a scheduled I controlled substance with the intent to distribute, to trafficking in oxycodone and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Authorities said some of the tactics used to mask the drugs were the inclusion of peppers and honey in the packaging. They also said some of the people met, exchanged information and made deals in Internet chat rooms.
Spivey said authorities are seeing new trends every day as dealers find more and varied ways to ship their products.
“The drug game is a competitive game,” he said.
And, Blair added, “We know crimes are driven by drugs.”
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