FORT MYERS, Fla. — State Attorney Amira Fox hosted a multi-agency press conference about a large drug operation on Friday that started in Collier County.
In a months-long investigation called "Operation All in the Family," investigators arrested 27 people and seized drugs including:
- 4.5 kilos of cocaine
- 160 grams of fentanyl
- 461 grams of methamphetamine
- 75.5 pounds of marijuana
- 20 guns
- 2 vehicles
- $251,000 in cash
"Without a doubt we have disrupted the flow of drugs not only into Collier County, but into southwest Florida," said Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk.
NETFORCE is a task force that targets southwest Florida where they tackle organized crime, drugs, racketeering and money laundering. The task force started in 2020 and Fox says the amount of fentanyl they have taken off the streets could have potentially killed more than 2,000,000 people.
Those arrested stretch across several areas including Fort Myers, Lehigh Acres, Cape Coral and LaBelle. Some of the suspects are charged with trafficking and distributing.
Fox says during the last three "NETFORCE" operations, they have seized just over four million grams of fentanyl.
"When you take guns and drugs off the streets, you save lives," said Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno. "The people that are addicted, we need to help. The people that are selling and dealing, we need to incarcerate."
According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, more than two-thirds of overdose deaths involved illicit fentanyl in 2021. For perspective, Florida had the second most drug overdose deaths in the country.
Fox says "NETFORCE" is made up of the State Attorney’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, Fort Myers Police Department, Collier County Sheriff’s Office, Cape Coral Police Department, Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, Glades County Sheriff’s Office, Hendry County Sheriff’s Office, Lee County Port Authority Police Department, DEA, U.S. Marshals, FDLE, Louisiana State Police, Broward Sheriff’s Office, Plantation Police Department, Wilton Manor Police Department, South Florida Financial Crimes Strike Force, South Florida High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), and Customs and Border Protection.
In photos of the suspects the State Attorney's Office provided, some of the photos were blank, so it's not clear if more arrests will be made in connection to this operation.
