‘Operation Heart Breaker’: Dozens arrested in undercover operation targeting suspected drug dealers

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — Dozens of suspected drug dealers are facing a combined 80 charges after a major drug bust in Flagler County on Valentine’s Day.

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Many of the suspects have already been arrested but deputies say several are still at-large.

Flagler County deputies knocked on the doors of 29 suspects Wednesday morning with arrest warrants in hand after a nearly year-long investigation.

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“If you’re a poison peddler in Flagler, I suggest you get the hell out,” Sheriff Rick Staley said during a press conference announcing the results of the operation Wednesday.

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigation Unit seized more than 1.4 kilograms of an assortment of drugs, including cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine, cannabis, and MDMA.

“Now, it’s time for the criminal just system to take action and put them in prison before they kill someone’s husband or wife,” Staley said.

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According to Staley, deputies confiscated enough fentanyl to kill 71,000 people.

The youngest suspect arrested was just 19 years old. The oldest was 63.

One suspect’s criminal history dates back nearly 30 years with 40 arrests and nine felony convictions. Only one of the suspects had never been arrested before Wednesday.

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The investigation started with a tip from the community and it grew from there, deputes say.

According to the sheriff’s office, there are at least five suspects who are still under investigation.

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