FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said three people have been sentenced after a multi-agency investigation into a drug trafficking organization.
Claude Harris, 38, was sentenced on Oct. 28, to 14.5 years in prison after pleading no contest to cocaine trafficking and money laundering, while his brother John Harris, 36, received a 3.5-year sentence after pleading no contest to sale or possession of cocaine.
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The convictions stem from “Operation Loose Lips,” an investigation led by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit and the FBI, with assistance from federal, state and local agencies.
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Authorities identified Claude Harris, John Harris and Aleah Fagan, 31, as key members of the operation, which laundered illicit proceeds through a local trucking business and maintained a stash house in Palm Coast.
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly commented on the convictions and law enforcement efforts.
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“Drug traffickers who bring cocaine into our community and profit from poisoning lives should know that we will pursue them, dismantle their organization and hold them accountable,” Staly said. “These brothers are now facing prison sentences and their assets and profits have been seized and taken from them. This investigation proves that if you are a drug trafficking organization operating in Flagler County, we work with our federal, state and county partners with one common goal: making our community safer and getting poison off the streets and you into prison. We will continue to aggressively target those who bring illegal drugs into Flagler County.”
The enforcement actions began on June 5, when St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office deputies, Homeland Security Investigations agents and Flagler County Sheriff’s Office detectives conducted a traffic stop near Matanzas Woods Parkway and Belle Terre Parkway, arresting Claude Harris.
The following day, detectives and SWAT team members executed a search warrant at 27 Egan Drive in Palm Coast.
Inside the home, investigators seized more than 200 grams of cocaine, approximately $13,000 in cash, three firearms, five vehicles and designer apparel.
Investigators executed three additional search warrants on June 10, 2026, at residences on Pine Brook Drive, Angela Drive and Farragut Drive in Palm Coast.
At the Angela Drive home, detectives found prescription medications, including fentanyl citrate and morphine, alongside a digital scale and plastic bags coated with cocaine residue.
Fagan was arrested on charges including possession of controlled substances without a prescription and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Detectives and the Volusia Bureau of Investigation are looking into whether Fagan, who was employed as a nurse at Halifax Health in Daytona Beach, used her position to divert hospital medications.
John Harris was arrested again on Sept. 2, after detectives observed a drug transaction on Emerson Drive in Palm Coast, charging him with sale of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a park or school and violation of probation.
Law enforcement noted that both brothers have prior criminal records in Flagler County.
In total, Operation Loose Lips resulted in the seizure of eight vehicles, five firearms, nearly 1.5 kilograms of cocaine, $100,969 in cash and various designer goods.
“Taking down drug trafficking organizations requires cooperation, communication and partnerships with our county, state and federal agencies,” Staly added. “I commend our detectives and thank every agency involved in this investigation for their outstanding work and dedication. Together, we made a real difference in keeping dangerous poison out of our communities.”
Claude Harris is currently being held at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility awaiting transfer to the Florida Department of Corrections.
John Harris has already been transferred to state prison custody, while Fagan remains free on $6,400 bond as her case moves through the court system.
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