82 Suspected Heroin Dealers and Traffickers Arrested in Broward

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL — Eighty-two suspected heroin dealers and traffickers were taken down during a three-day crackdown aimed at opioid abuse and the rise in related deaths in South Florida. A series of raids were carried out by Broward Sheriff's deputies, federal and state agents as well as Fort Lauderdale police. The operation was dubbed “Operation Bad Dose."

“This devastating crisis knows no bounds and affects individuals of every race, color and socioeconomic status. It’s infecting our neighborhoods, poisoning our children and filling our morgues,” explained Broward Sheriff Scott Israel. “We are committed to ending this alarming epidemic and saving lives.” (Sign up for our free Daily Newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Aventura Patch.)

The arrests were announced on Friday just days after Miami law enforcement officials disclosed that Florida's opioid crisis is believed to have claimed its youngest victim, 10-year-old Alton Banks who came in contact with a very small amount of fentanyl. After a day at a public swimming pool in Miami's Overtown section, the boy grew sick and died on June 23. See Youngest Victim of Opioid Crisis: Miami 5th Grader

Watch below as BSO deputies search an apartment for heroin.

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Operation Bad Dose is the culmination of several months of heroin investigations, in which undercover detectives used tips from informants and the public to identify subjects who were believed to be bringing heroin into the county and the suspected dealers who peddle it on the streets.

The operation netted 82 arrests through 14 executed search warrants and turned up more than 29,600 grams of narcotics stopped that BSO said would have been distributed. Police also seized 15 firearms and more than $151,000 in cash, according to BSO.

In the state of Florida, heroin trafficking of 28 grams or more carries a minimum mandatory sentence of 25 years in prison.

BSO was assisted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms, U.S. Marshals, the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area and State Probation.

Watch as deputies search an apartment below:

Drugs and cash seized during Operation Bad Dose. Photo and video courtesy Broward Sheriff's Office.