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Recent Posts in DEA Category

October 11, 2010

Florida Marijuana News – Proliferation Of “Fake Weed” Allowing Users To Get High And Pass Drug Tests

Fake pot is becoming a major drug enforcement problem considering the fact it is legal and sold in gas stations. The synthetic marijuana is popular with teens, the military and people on probation.
March 30, 2010

Prescription Fraud Sentences Handed Out By Federal Judge In Pinellas

A group of five people involved in a Pinellas prescription drug ring were sentenced to prison terms ranging from nearly four years to seven years. The prescription fraud involved the painkiller oxycodone. All five of the participants pled guilty to charges of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of oxycodone.

The prescription fraud involved the manufacturing of fake prescriptions that had valid DEA numbers on them. The group would supply cell phone numbers to the doctors who allegedly wrote the prescriptions but the calls went to co-conspirators not doctors. The fake prescriptions for the painkillers were submitted at three Pinellas pharmacies.…

March 29, 2010

1,200 Pounds Of Marijuana Found In Trailer Seized In Davenport

Sheriff’s offices in Polk and Seminole counties, FDLE and the Drug Enforcement Agency were all involved in an investigation that netted a drug bust of 1,200 pounds of marijuana. A trailer containing the pot was seized in Davenport and was the result of an investigation that authorities say dismantled two Florida marijuana trafficking operations with ties to Mexico and California.

Seminole County sheriff’s claim the investigation has led to 40 arrests. The first salvo was fired by law enforcement when they seized 600 pounds of high quality pot and $240,000 in cash along with cocaine and firearms earlier in March.…

March 23, 2010

Buju Banton’s Lawyer Claims Inhumane Treatment As The Reggae Star Awaits His Drug Trial

It has been a few months since any news came out surrounding the federal drug case against Grammy-nominated Reggae star Buju Banton. There is nothing to new report on Banton’s cocaine distribution charges but his lawyer is claiming that Banton is being mistreated in the Pinellas County Jail.

According to the reggae musician’s Florida Criminal Defense Attorney, Banton is being treated inhumanely for nothing more than sharing his food with another prisoner. Pinellas sheriffs deny that assertion saying Banton is in “closed custody” because he violated prison rules and used food as currency. Banton’s defense lawyer is asking a judge to release his client on bail or move his cell to a wing that is not maximum-security.…

March 22, 2010

Homosassa Meth Lab Busted Up By Local And Federal Law Enforcement

Federal and local officials who raided a Citrus County found a meth lab and three children under the age of 10 living in what they described as deplorable conditions. Two men and one woman were all arrested on drug charges in connection with the meth lab. James Bole and Crystal Dennis of Homosassa are both facing federal drug charges according to TBO.com.

Federal agents and Citrus County Sheriff’s officers found residue of methamphetamines on almost every surface in the home but that wasn’t all they found. According to reports three children were living in the home that had trenches of human waste, an open septic well, dangerous wiring and holes in the floor.…

March 17, 2010

Cocaine Trafficking Charges Filed Against St Pete Man On Probation For Federal Drug Conviction

Authorities identified Justin Richardson as a major coke dealer in St Pete and now the 29-year-old is under arrest. According to TBO.com, Richardson, who is on probation for federal drug charges, will be back in federal court to face new cocaine trafficking charges. Richardson is scheduled to be in U.S. District Court in Tampa today for a bail hearing on charges of conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute.

Richardson is currently on probation from a conviction in Texas for sending five pounds of pot and several kilos of cocaine to St Pete via DHL in 2004. The cocaine ring has connections to Mexico and Sarasota according to police reports and Richardson also reportedly sold a Tampa man upwards of 10 kilos of cocaine over the last several months.…

March 1, 2010

Prescription Drug Fraud And Abuse In Florida Has Grown While State Figures Out How To Handle The Problem

There has been a noticeable effort to crack down on prescription drug fraud in Tampa Bay but the state of Florida has not helped law enforcement as it has taken a long time for Florida to react to the explosion in the prescription drug trade. According to TampaBay.com Florida is the top state in the nation for Oxycodone prescriptions. The newspaper goes on to state that Tampa Bay is a hotspot for prescription drug trafficking according to U.S. Drug Enforcement.

Florida has been slow to react to the prescription drug explosion and is now paying the price for not having a modern system for tracking prescriptions.…

February 23, 2010

Oxycodone Sale Behind The DEA’s Arrest Of A Port Richey Cop

Yesterday news came out a Port Richey police officer was arrested by the DEA. Today details surrounding the arrest of James Ruland are starting to emerge. According to TBO.com Ruland was arrested for planning to sell oxycodone pills to a DEA informant. He is now in a Pinellas County Jail on charges of drug distribution.

Ruland was a sergeant with the Port Richey Police when he began meeting with a confidential informant to discuss selling the oxycodone pills. The two met three times this year and all three of those meetings were taped by the DEA informant. The two were scheduled to meet in Spring Hill where Ruland was scheduled to accept a $5,000 down payment for the drugs.…

February 22, 2010

Pinellas County Police Officer Involved In Drug Investigation Is Arrested By DEA

On Friday, Port Richey police officer James Ruland was arrested. On Monday a little more information was released about the reasons why. According to TampaBay.com Ruland is involved in a criminal investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Agency
. He is in a Pinellas County jail on unspecified charges.

The Port Richey police officer is being held by the U.S. Marshals and he has already been fired by the police department. There was no information released on the type of drug crime Ruland is being investigated for, but the Port Richey police department is said to be working with the DEA on the investigation.…

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