Authorities say a two-year undercover operation resulted in 85 arrests, the seizure of over $12.8 million in drugs, and the disassembling of a global drug smuggling organization based in Winter Haven.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation began in September 2020, when Demarcus Jefferson, 32, crashed his vehicle into a Winter Haven gas station, killing a customer inside.
Sheriff Grady Judd said surveillance footage from the gas station clearly showed in masks racing up to the wrecked car and snatching items from the trunk before officers arrived. They were taking drugs out of the trunk, according to the sheriff, so officers wouldn’t find them during the accident investigation.
Matt Murphy, who observed the 2020 gas station collision, told FOX 13 at the time that an SUV arrived after the car smashed through the building. The man in the SUV and the Kia’s driver unloaded whatever was in the Kia’s trunk into the SUV.
During the course of the investigation into the gas station crash, detectives learned that Demarcus and other members of the Jefferson family were engaged in trafficking arge amounts of methamphetamine through flights in checked-in luggage on domestic flights from California.
Undercover investigators made numerous drug purchases at Demarcus’ Winter Haven home after learning that one of Demarcus’ brothers, Devontae, ended up dead from a Fentanyl and Xanax overdose there six months earlier. The family, however, continued to distribute drugs at the residence after Devontae’s death, according to the sheriff’s office.
Detectives performed a search warrant in Winter Haven and recovered a pound of methamphetamine, while continuing to conduct undercover drug transactions from dealers all through the area from that moment forward.
In February 2022, the sheriff’s office, in collaboration with local, state, and federal law enforcement officials from across the nation, launched a wire tapping investigation to oversee the activity of the smuggling operation.
Investigators discovered that the suspects smuggled large amounts of drugs into California before transporting them on domestic routes from Los Angeles to Memphis, Tennessee, and finally to Orlando International Airport. The drugs were then transferred from the airport to Polk County by ground.
The sheriff described one instance in which the suspects managed to smuggle 6 suitcases filled with drugs on a flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Orlando.
14 search warrants were served in Auburndale, Davenport, Polk City, Lake Wales, Winter Haven, and Riverview, as well as Fresno, California, resulting in the seizure of the following:
- 268 pounds of Methamphetamine ($9,725,040 street value)
- 31 pounds of Cocaine ($1,405,337 street value)
- 180 pounds of Cannabis ($1,628,357 street value)
- 3.4 pounds of MDMA/Ecstasy ($84,601 street value)
- 6.8 ounces of Fentanyl ($26,880 street value)
- 68 Alprazolam (Xanax) pills
- 173 Oxycodone pills
- 49 firearms
- 3 non-active grenades
- 2 bulletproof vests
- 1 stolen motorcycle
- $235,000 cash
According to the sheriff’s office, the total street value of the drugs seized is more than $12.8 million. The investigation led to the arrest of 85 suspects, who were charged with 355 felonies and 93 misdemeanors.
According to the sheriff’s office, the suspects have a total of 194 felony convictions in their criminal histories.
