Investigators learned that the suspects smuggled large amounts of drugs from Mexico into California, then transported the drugs on domestic flights from Los Angeles through Memphis, Tennessee and then to Orlando International Airport. The drugs were then transported by ground from the airport into Polk County.
Authorities say a two-year undercover investigation resulted in 85 arrests, the seizure of over $12.8 million worth of drugs, and the dismantling of an international drug trafficking organization whose ringleaders operated out of Winter Haven.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation started in September 2020, when 32-year-old Demarcus Jefferson crashed his car into a Winter Haven gas station, killing a customer inside.
Sheriff Grady Judd said surveillance video from the gas station showed people in masks running up to the totaled vehicle and grabbing items from the car’s trunk before deputies arrived at the scene. According to the sheriff, they were taking drugs out of the trunk so deputies wouldn’t find them during their crash investigation.
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