Deputies: Lake Co. car dealership caught selling drugs

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — Investigators said a dealership in Lake County was selling more than just cars.

Lake County sheriff's detectives said an undercover operation caught PGE Auto Sales on North 14th Street in Leesburg dealing drugs.

Detectives said they shut down the dealership after they caught a salesman negotiating a big drug deal.

WFTV reporter Berndt Petersen asked, "Were they primarily selling cars or selling drugs?"

"It's hard to tell right now. It looks like they were doing a little bit of both," said Lake County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Jim Vachon.

Investigators arrested Patrick Elagha, the owner of PGE Auto Sales, and six others who agents said were involved in the sale of 1 kilogram of cocaine and 35 pounds of marijuana. A kilogram is a little more than 2.2 pounds.

Along with the drugs, deputies seized $60,000 in cash and dozens of vehicles from the lot.

The car lot sits across the street from a church and Christian school.

The Sheriff's Office said the drugs were valued at nearly $80,000.

"A kilo of cocaine is quite a bit. You're looking at quite a bit of money -- street value and as far as the dealing in narcotics. It's a lot of money and drugs. Thirty-five pounds of marijuana is a lot," Vachon said.

The suspects were charged with drug trafficking and conspiracy.

Elagha was released from the Lake County Jail Wednesday on $40,000 bail.

WFTV