POLK COUNTY, Fla — A total of 14 kilos of fentanyl was seized from drug traffickers operating in Polk County, Sheriff Grady Judd said in a news conference Friday.
"It seems like every time I stand up here to talk about a fentanyl operation that we work with our colleagues, I'm saying 'it's the largest fentanyl seizure in the state of Florida,'" Judd said during the news conference. "And once again that's what I'm saying today."
The amount of the deadly drug was the most the county had ever seen, Judd added. In addition to the fentanyl seized, valued at $3.5 million, four people were arrested on drug trafficking charges. Two of those people arrested were reportedly in the country unlawfully.
"With the seizure of 14 kilos of fentanyl, this is the single-largest seizure in the history of Polk County, and that's not something to be proud of," Judd said. Later, he said the amount of the drug was enough to kill "every man, woman and child" across a large portion of Florida.
When speaking of the two individuals not legally in the country, Judd mentioned the need for a "sealed" border along Mexico, not a "porous" one. The two other individuals arrested were from California and had served in the military, Judd said.
A fifth person, who has not been identified, has a warrant for their arrest.
Judd explained the county's investigation and undercover operation began back in August 2023. Over those nine months, a total of 14 kilos were exchanged between the traffickers and law enforcement. The first two kilograms of fentanyl were delivered to detectives via a trafficker based in Mexico, a release said.
A second delivery happened in person on April 5 at a Lakeland motel. One kilo of fentanyl was seized in this part of the operation. Because of this successful transaction, the sheriff's office said it was able to set up another transaction, this time with traffickers shipping a lot more fentanyl — 11 kilos — from Mexico to Polk County.
The big bust went down on Monday. Four people — 29-year-old Maria Machuca-Alderete, 48-year-old Maria Guadalupe-Garcia, 52-year-old Sergio Garcia and 31-year-old Pedro Rodriguez-Correa — arrived at the meeting place.
The driver, Rodriguez-Correa, reportedly brought a 6-year-old boy to the delivery. The child was taken into custody by the Florida Department of Children and Families, the sheriff's office said.
Judd said at least one of the containers holding the fentanyl was a Huggies diaper box.
In addition to the 11 kilos of fentanyl, detectives also found almost $5,500 in cash.
All four people are facing drug trafficking charges. You can read the full list of charges here.
“Fentanyl is an enormous threat to Americans today," Judd said in a released statement. "In addition to the tens of thousands who are killed by fentanyl-related drug overdoses each year, there is also great damage done to families and communities. I am confident that with the arrests and seizures made during this investigation, many lives have been saved in Polk County and beyond, but more work needs to be done at the southern border to cut off the supply into the United States.”
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody slammed President Joe Biden on his handling of the border, accusing him of allowing fentanyl to come in with thousands of undocumented immigrants. Those drugs in turn have killed thousands of Floridians, Moody said.
“Florida law enforcement continues to fight the death and destruction emanating from Biden’s border crisis. The latest, the largest fentanyl bust in Polk County history—enough of this deadly poison to kill seven million Floridians. These interdiction efforts save lives and while we continue to do everything we can here in Florida to stop the opioid crisis, the skyrocketing national overdose death toll will not slow down until Biden stops empowering the Mexican drug cartels and closes the border.”
Watch the full news conference below or by clicking or tapping here.