Couple arrested after heroin, cash found during traffic stop

MARION COUNTY, Fla. — A Marion County couple was busted with more than $100,000 worth of heroin, cash and a stockpile of guns, deputies said.
 
Investigators said Felipe and Stephanie Rodriguez was trafficking the drug out of their home in an upscale gated community.
 
Deputies said they found the 1.5 lbs of heroin and $20,000 cash following a traffic stop. The two had been on their radar and they were keeping tabs on them, according to authorities.
 
"That's an enormous amount of heroin," Brian Dotten, of the Marion County Sheriff's Office, said.
 
Deputies said they had pulled the couple over for their window tint being too dark and a K-9 alerted them that drugs were in the car.
 
When deputies searched their home, they said they found surveillance cameras and evidence that children lived there.
 
Neighbors said they were surprised.
 
Deputies said restrictions are making it tougher to get pills and meth so addicts have turned to heroin for an easier and cheaper fix.
 
Deputies said 2.2 lbs of heroin were seized last year and only 1.4 ounces the year before.
 
"(It) could lead to deaths, (it) could lead to where they go out and commit robberies and they do homicides and things of that nature to support that habit," Chris Blair, of the Marion County Sheriff's Office, said.
 
Officials said the investigation is in the early stages and they aren't sure if there will be more charges or additional arrests. 

Cox Media Group