DRUG SWEEP NETS $500,000 IN CONTRABAND

More Than 50 People Arrested This Year

BRANDON -- A four-month sweep of street-level drug dealers led to the
seizure of more than $500,000 worth of drugs and the arrest of more than 50
people since January, including some who may face federal prison time,
sheriff's officials said Thursday.

At least 70 arrests are expected over the next few days or weeks as part of
Operation Street Level Roundup.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office held a news conference to announce
the end of the investigation five hours after 80 deputies hit the streets
to continue the sweep. During the news conference, detectives showed off a
collection of drugs, guns and cash.

"Today isn't the end," Col. Jose Docobo said. "There is still a lot of work
to do."

In all, the sheriff's office, with help from the federal Drug Enforcement
Administration, the Tampa Police Department and the Plant City Police
Department, targeted 121 people, he said.

Three of the largest seizures were in Valrico and Brandon, where deputies
confiscated 2.5 pounds of methamphetamine, 64 pounds of high-quality,
hand-cultivated marijuana and $4,200 in cash.

On Ninth Avenue in north Tampa, sheriff's officials confiscated a small
amount of marijuana, 5 ounces of powder cocaine and two small plastic bags
of ecstasy pills.

"Those were not your typical street-level amounts," said Lt. Gary Ganey,
bureau commander for the sheriff's Special Operations unit. "It just seems
like it never stops."

But Ganey noted that if the suspects are convicted of federal crimes, they
would be off the street for a long time.

Typically, criminals convicted of federal charges get longer sentences and
can't get early release.

"Because of the destructive nature of those drugs, crack and meth, the feds
are being very aggressive in prosecuting," Ganey said.

Countywide, narcotics investigators seized 975 grams of crack cocaine with
a street value of $78,000, 3,600 grams of powder cocaine worth $288,000,
and the 64 pounds of marijuana worth $51,200. Deputies said that if the
marijuana were sold by the ounce, each would have cost $1,000.

Also, deputies confiscated just more than 2 kilograms of methamphetamine,
worth $162,640, and smaller amounts of heroin and pills, including
hydrocodone, oxycodone and ecstasy.

"We did not concentrate on any one area" or on any one drug ring, Docobo
said. The sheriff's office targeted the entire county, focusing on areas
identified by the department's "strategic analysis" database, which tracks
crimes with the help of citizen complaints.

"We tried to take the initial purchase of a $20 crack-cocaine rock and take
it as far as we could up the chain of supply," Docobo said. Although the
operation didn't involve the arrest of ring leaders, Docobo said the
arrests still will hit the drug trade hard.