74 Suspects Charged With 711 Drug Trafficking Crimes In Polk

LAKELAND, FL — More than 70 suspects in Polk County have been arrested by the Polk County Sheriff's Office as a result of Operation Hot Wire, a nine-month telephone and electronic wire intercept investigation that focused on drug trafficking and distribution within the county, said police in a news release. The investigation began in 2019 after five violent, gang-related armed home invasions took place, and the unsolved murder of Shay Collins of Dundee that occurred on June 27.

Seventy-four of the suspects are charged with 711 felonies and 11 misdemeanors, said police. Sixty-eight suspects have been arrested. There are warrants out for the other six suspects.

There is also a 17-year-old suspect charged with a misdemeanor and another 17-year-old charged with a felony.

Police seized drugs such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, fentanyl, $50,000 and guns from the suspects. Some guns were stolen and illegally owned.

Two of the suspects are in the country illegally, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been notified. Five armed home invasion robberies so far have been attributed to suspects arrested during this investigation: one that occurred in Winter Haven on April 24, 2019; three in Lakeland on May 29, June 17, and July 9, 2019; and one that occurred in Eagle Lake on June 26, 2019, stated the Polk County Sheriff's website.