Bay Area law enforcement seeing 'frustrating' uptick in fentanyl-related arrests

TAMPA - Tampa Bay area law enforcement took a large amount of fentanyl off our streets this week, from a history-making bust in Polk County to fentanyl seized from a hit-and-run driver.

"With a seizure of 14 kilos of fentanyl, this is the single largest seizure in the history of Polk County, and that’s nothing to be proud of," said Sheriff Grady Judd of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office on Friday.

That’s about 30 pounds of fentanyl, and PCSO said investigators busted part of an organized crime drug trafficking operation, arresting four people.

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"The dope that was taken off of this case, as the sheriff said, was not staying in Polk County," said FDLE assistant commissioner Lee Massie.

On Thursday, Florida Highway Patrol arrested a hit-and-run driver in Wesley Chapel, and troopers say the man had enough fentanyl to kill about 30,000 people.

"To say it’s frustrating is probably a huge understatement, because it is so addictive. It’s so deadly. It’s so easy to transport," said Sheriff Al Nienhuis of the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office.

Nienhuis said his agency’s fentanyl-related arrests are trending up, and his lieutenant is finding all kinds of drugs laced with fentanyl when sending it out for testing.

"It comes back with traces of fentanyl, even things like THC gummies, leaf marijuana, and then pills often times are counterfeited," said Nienhuis. "Instead of using the ingredients that typically come in Xanax and so forth, they put fentanyl in because it is very inexpensive and very powerful."

That’s what makes fentanyl so dangerous. It’s difficult to measure, leading to overdose deaths.

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"It seems like all of us either know somebody personally, or family member that is either addicted or died from it as a result of an overdose," said Nienhuis. "It’s heart-wrenching for us to deal with because we realize what the family is going through, and I think every family says what could I have done differently."

With National Drug Take Back Day this weekend, Nienhuis said it’s best to get rid of pills that could end up in the wrong hands and add to the cycle investigators are fighting.

"You know an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," he said when talking about people overdosing on drugs. "If they were used to taking x amount of drugs before they got clean, and then they decide to go back to taking drugs, and they decide to take x amount of drugs after six months of being clean, it will kill them quickly."

The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office said while they are seeing more fentanyl arrests, they are also seeing fewer overdoses and overdose deaths. But Sheriff Nienhuis said that’s also in part due to the life-saving drug Narcan. So, he said the easiest way to deal with those dangers is to prevent them in the first place.

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