FDLE, drug task force arrest 103 in north Florida

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has arrested 103 people in a three-county prescription drug trafficking investigation.

The eight-month-long investigation ended with a long list of arrestees, mostly street-level dealers, authorities said.

One after another, accused drug dealers walked out of a Flagler County operations center. There were so many arrested, deputies set up a remote booking center to log the suspects into the jail system.

Investigators said most of the suspects were dealing oxycodone, and deputies recovered more than 1,500 pills.

Special agent Dominick Pape and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement hope the investigation will lead to more busts.

“Out of all these 103 people, several, I believe on the odds, will give us great information, will give us that next level, will give us that dispensing doctor, could give us a pharmacy,” one detective said. “So this is just a foundation. You got to start somewhere."

In Putnam County, 72-year-old Ruby Nixon was arrested. She is a grandmother who officials said was pushing morphine and has a long criminal history.

Many of the suspects arrested have been in jail before for drugs, authorities said.

WFTV