March 4, 2010
Cocaine At Fort Lauderdale Airport Goes Unclaimed
Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT
Officials at the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport are anxiously awaiting someone to claim their three pieces of luggage that happen to contain 171 pounds of cocaine. Any takers? No arrests have been made at this point after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found the drugs hidden inside bags that were making their way around a luggage carousel Saturday.
Customs officials are trying to locate the owner of the bags but it seems unlikely anyone will file a lost bag report for these three suitcases. If the agents are able to track down the owner of the bags, federal drug trafficking charges seem likely in the case.…
March 3, 2010
Tampa Shooting Linked To Drugs? Investigators Are Looking Into The Connection.
Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s are investigating the circumstances surrounding a 22-year-old Tampa man who was shot in his apartment Tuesday evening. According to TBO.com deputies found drug paraphernalia inside the victim’s apartment and are investigating whether it was a drug-related shooting.
The victim, who survived the shooting, described the suspects as two men wearing masks and hooded sweatshirts. He was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital after deputies discovered him sitting outside his home with a gunshot wound on his torso. The apartment where the shooting took place was located on Noth 58th Street.…
March 2, 2010
Charlotte County Meth Lab Discovered In Hotel Room
Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT
Three men, two from Florida and one from Alabama, who were allegedly running a meth lab out of a hotel room have been arrested in Charlotte County. The men have been charged with an assortment of crimes including possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, production of meth and manufacturing of methamphetamine.
The meth lab was reportedly being run out of a room at the Inns & Suites hotel on S. McCall Road. The arrests were made by U.S. Marshalls and Charlotte County sheriff’s deputies who were attempting to arrest Billy Shane Myers, a fugitive from Alabama. Myers will be extradited to Alabama while the other two men are in the Charlotte County jail.…
March 2, 2010
Prescription Drugs Lead To DUI Arrest On UCF Campus In Orlando
Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT
Police on the UCF campus in Orlando discovered a man asleep at the wheel of his car at 6:21 a.m. Sunday. Thomas Clyde Mastin, Jr. had more than 70 prescription muscle relaxants in his car at the time. He has been arrested and charged with DUI, possession of a controlled substance, sale or delivery of oxycodone, trafficking in oxycodone and other charges.
Mastin allegedly failed field sobriety tests but registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.00 on his breath test. He admitted to drinking at a bar in Casselberry where he worked and taking oxycodone earlier that day. The Orlando Sentinel is also reporting the man admitted to having alprazolam and carisoprodol on his possession for a bad back.…
March 1, 2010
Prescription Drug Fraud And Abuse In Florida Has Grown While State Figures Out How To Handle The Problem
Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT
There has been a noticeable effort to crack down on prescription drug fraud in Tampa Bay but the state of Florida has not helped law enforcement as it has taken a long time for Florida to react to the explosion in the prescription drug trade. According to TampaBay.com Florida is the top state in the nation for Oxycodone prescriptions. The newspaper goes on to state that Tampa Bay is a hotspot for prescription drug trafficking according to U.S. Drug Enforcement.
Florida has been slow to react to the prescription drug explosion and is now paying the price for not having a modern system for tracking prescriptions.…
March 1, 2010
Failed Drug Test Using A Toddler’s Urine Lands Two Florida Women In Jail
Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT
A New Port Richey woman on probation for drug charges is back in jail. Sara Lou Kenny tried to pass a court-ordered drug test using urine supplied by her friend’s four-year-old son. According to the Sarasota Herald Tribune Kenny allegedly had methadone that wasn’t prescribed to her. She is now in Pasco County Jail for violation of probation.
Kenny was not the only one arrested in the attempt to get around her drug test. The mother of the toddler that supplied the urine is in jail as well. Amber Tobek was on probation as well and now she is in jail for violation of probation herself.…
February 25, 2010
Marijuana Grow House Being Run By Ex-Con In The Bathroom At His Mom’s House
Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT
Acting on an informant’s tip, Charlotte County sheriff’s uncovered 42 marijuana plants growing in the bathroom closet at a Punta Gorda home. Deputies have arrested an ex-con named Allen Milton Hardman on charges of cultivation, possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia charges. He is being held in Charlotte County Jail without bail.
According to the Sarasota Herald Tribune Hardman had been living in his mother’s home since his release from prison in August. His mother has told deputies that her son began cultivating marijuana plants less than a month ago. The search of the Dixie Avenue home turned up the plants and more than 20 grams of pot.…
February 23, 2010
Oxycodone Sale Behind The DEA’s Arrest Of A Port Richey Cop
Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT
Yesterday news came out a Port Richey police officer was arrested by the DEA. Today details surrounding the arrest of James Ruland are starting to emerge. According to TBO.com Ruland was arrested for planning to sell oxycodone pills to a DEA informant. He is now in a Pinellas County Jail on charges of drug distribution.
Ruland was a sergeant with the Port Richey Police when he began meeting with a confidential informant to discuss selling the oxycodone pills. The two met three times this year and all three of those meetings were taped by the DEA informant. The two were scheduled to meet in Spring Hill where Ruland was scheduled to accept a $5,000 down payment for the drugs.…
February 22, 2010
Pinellas County Police Officer Involved In Drug Investigation Is Arrested By DEA
Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT
On Friday, Port Richey police officer James Ruland was arrested. On Monday a little more information was released about the reasons why. According to TampaBay.com Ruland is involved in a criminal investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Agency
. He is in a Pinellas County jail on unspecified charges.
The Port Richey police officer is being held by the U.S. Marshals and he has already been fired by the police department. There was no information released on the type of drug crime Ruland is being investigated for, but the Port Richey police department is said to be working with the DEA on the investigation.…
February 19, 2010
Prescription Fraud Sting In Pinellas County Ends 10-Month Run With Just 20 Arrests So Far
Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT
Prescription fraud has gradually became the focus of Florida Law Enforcement over cocaine and marijuana as of late according to a story in the St. Pete Times. A recent 10-month drug investigation involving prescription drug fraud in Pinellas County resulted in impressive numbers. “Operation Pill Poppers” wound up with 150 counts of doctor shopping, 55,000 pills worth three-quarters of a million dollars and 74 suspects. The problem, as of yesterday there were only 20 arrests made.
The prescription drug crimes division for Pinellas County has doubled in size in hopes of battling the growing problem of prescription drug fraud. With no statewide prescription computer system, doctor shopping and prescription fraud is a growing problem in Florida.…
