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A major drug bust led deputies to 120 gallons of liquid meth being transported in buckets by suspects from Georgia to Florida, overseen by a "mastermind" who ran the operation from federal prison, officials said Thursday.
By Gordon Byrd Apr 29, 2021 WINTER HAVEN -- Law enforcement agencies say a random shipment of pills led them to the biggest meth haul in Polk County history, and broke up a drug ring being directed from a federal penitentiary. Six people have been arrested, including five people in the country illegally. In a Thursday news conference, Polk Sheriff Grady Judd says detectives working with a multi-agency drug task force seized 1,342 pounds of liquid meth, with an estimated value of over $50 million, in "Operation Dirty Water". The meth was transported in orange buckets, to be converted to crys...
The operation began Jan. 14, when federal agents intercepted a shipment of generic Xanax in New York, Judd said. The Department of Homeland Security Investigations coordinated with its Tampa office to arrange undercover purchases of other drugs, and the agency asked the Polk County Sheriff’s Office for help, said Kevin Sibley, special agent in charge for the Tampa office. Federal agents seized a parcel containing about 2,500 generic Xanax pills, PCSO said. Three days after Sibley contacted Judd's office, undercover operations were set up in Polk County. Undercover agents arranged a controll...
Polk County Sheriff makes largest meth bust in county history Sheriff Grady Judd announced the largest drug bust in history (Source: WWSB) By ABC7 Staff | April 29, 2021 at 1:55 PM EDT - Updated April 30 at 6:33 AM POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WWSB) - The Polk County Sheriffâs Office had a huge win with the largest meth seizure in county history. According to Sheriff Grady Judd, the mastermind of the operation was running the drug ring from inside prison. In early 2021, the Polk County Sheriffâs Office High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force and the Department of Homeland Secur...