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NORTH FT MYERS | 115 arrested in 4-month drug investigation

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LEE COUNTY, Fla. — A drug bust on Thursday morning in Lee County is part of a four-month investigation that's put 115 people behind bars.

It's a push we've seen from many southwest Florida law enforcement agencies, specifically targeting the fentanyl crisis.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) worked with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to complete the investigation called Summer Sizzle.

On Thursday, deputies surrounded a North Fort Myers home on Zoysia Lane where people were arrested. The operation as a whole has taken kilos of drugs off the street.

"We seized 5.4 kilos of cocaine, and over a kilo of fentanyl and meth," said Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno. "50 illegal guns and two vehicles."

Some neighbors in the area said they did not know what was going on in the home. Others say they thought something was suspicious.

"People in and out," one neighbor said. "Between cars, people on bikes, people going through our yards, stealing our stuff."

The drug operation is one of many, Marceno said, targeting drugs, such as fentanyl. It's a bigger trend we're seeing more of.

In the past year, Lee County Commissioner Kevin Ruane says they helped double the size of the LCSO Narcotics Unit.

In Collier County, the sheriff's office also recently announced drug arrests and a new campaign that will work to cut down on the number of overdose death.s

The CDC estimates more than 110,000 people died form a drug overdose from April 2022 to April 2023, with 70% of those potentially from fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.

"We will not tolerate poison sold on our streets," Marceno said.

It's something one neighbor, a mother, does not want to see at the raided home again.

"I feel like ti will still keep going, but hopefully it doesn't.

According to LCSO, the DEA and FBI assisted in identifying drug dealers throughout Lee County. The people arrested are facing state charges, but they could be upgraded to federal crimes.