{"id":350426,"date":"2026-07-23T21:55:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T21:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/350426\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T21:55:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T21:55:08","slug":"operation-ice-breaker-ii-49-arrested-in-florida-narcotics-trafficking-networks-ag-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/350426\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Operation Ice Breaker II&#8217;: 49 arrested in Florida narcotics trafficking networks, AG says"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Forty-nine people have been arrested following a lengthy investigation into drug trafficking organizations accused of distributing fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine and other narcotics across several Central Florida counties, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/cbs12.com\/topic\/Attorney%20General%20James%20Uthmeier\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The investigation, known as \u201cOperation Ice Breaker II,\u201d began in 2024 and culminated June 30, when authorities executed simultaneous search warrants at several locations, including properties in Polk and Volusia counties.<\/p>\n<p>Investigators said the drug networks operated in Flagler, Marion, Orange, St. Johns and Volusia counties.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities used wiretaps, telephone tracking, surveillance and controlled drug purchases to identify the organizations\u2019 members and gather evidence, according to the attorney general\u2019s office.<\/p>\n<p>During the searches, law enforcement officers seized drugs, money, digital scales, telephones, cutting agents and other evidence allegedly connected to drug sales.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis joint investigation dismantled a criminal organization that pumped deadly fentanyl and other dangerous drugs into Florida communities,\u201d Uthmeier said. \u201cThrough the tireless work of Florida\u2019s law enforcement, state attorneys, and our statewide prosecutors, we have arrested 49 traffickers and disrupted these networks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One part of the investigation focused on an alleged drug operation in Holly Hill that Volusia County Sheriff<a href=\"https:\/\/cbs12.com\/topic\/Mike%20Chitwood\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> Mike Chitwood<\/a> said operated from a building near a church. Investigators accused members of the \u201cCut Throat Murderers\u201d gang of distributing fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine from the property.<\/p>\n<p>See also: <a href=\"https:\/\/cbs12.com\/news\/local\/335000-high-dose-oxy-pills-cash-only-south-florida-pharmacy-owner-found-guilty-by-jury-striderite-in-margate-chans-pharmacy-plus-in-pembroke-pines-addicted-florida-crime-news-oxycodone-prescriptions-addicted-florida-arrest-conviction-jail-time-fbi-va\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">335,000 high-dose oxy pills, cash-only: South Florida pharmacy owner found guilty by jury<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Chitwood said the investigation also connected guns from the property to a recent shooting.<\/p>\n<p>This work is never done, but thanks to a relentless approach and a lot of great teamwork, Volusia County is better off today with another set of scumbag drug dealers locked up,\u201d Chitwood said.<\/p>\n<p>The investigation involved the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Volusia County Sheriff\u2019s Office, Flagler County Sheriff\u2019s Office, Daytona Beach Police Department and other agencies.<\/p>\n<p>Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young said dismantling the organization would help reduce the violence and other crimes fueled by drug trafficking.<\/p>\n<p>The cases will be prosecuted by the Florida Office of Statewide Prosecution in partnership with the State Attorney\u2019s Office for the Seventh Judicial Circuit.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities said the investigation remains active and additional arrests are expected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Forty-nine people have been arrested following a lengthy investigation into drug trafficking&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":350427,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-350426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350426\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/350427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}