Dogged Determination Leads to Major Drug Busts Along I-75 Corridor

PASCO COUNTY, FL — For Pasco County sheriff's K9 Flash, it was just another day on the job doing what he does naturally and getting a treat and tummy rub as a reward.

The German shepherd has no clue that he's a crucial component in Florida's war on drugs.

The Pasco County Sheriff Highway Interdiction Team works hand in hand with the Florida Highway Patrol to spot the stream of drug runners regularly using Florida's Interstate 75 corridor from the Georgia state line to Alligator Alley in South Florida to smuggle drugs into the state.

Flash and his cohorts recently stopped a car for a traffic violation in the Hudson area.

It didn't take the nosey four-legged deputy long to alert the team to the presence of drugs in the car. With his help, deputies discovered a large stash of amphetamines concealed in the car.

The Highway Interdiction Team is a specialty unit responsible for disrupting the flow of drugs traveling through Pasco County. The team includes specially trained deputies and narcotics detection K9s who can alert deputies to odors humans can’t detect.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the drug-sniffing dogs has become instrumental members of law enforcement agencies intent on stemming the tide of drug addiction, opioid overdose deaths and crimes related to drug trafficking that has become epidemic in Florida.

On April 26, K9 Titan received a "Good Boy" pat on the back when troopers pulled over a Jeep Grand Cherokee with a fake Arizona license plate heading south on I-75 in Hernando County.
With a bark and an enthusiastic wag of his tail, Titan alerted troopers to the presence of 5.5 pounds of sealed bundles of heroin with a street value of more than $693,000.

The Jeep's two occupants were undocumented immigrants from Mexico.

It's not the first time Titan has earned some extra Milk-Bone biscuits. He and his human handler regularly patrol Interstate 75 in Hernando, Pasco and Hillsborough counties in search of drugs being smuggled into the state.

On May 5, 2020, K9 Titan was instrumental in the arrest of a 36-year-old Bradenton man who was pulled over along I-75 in Trinity with 65 pounds of marijuana.

The dogs undergo 800 hours of training to teach them to detect everything from pills to pot.

Their sensitive olfactory systems make them ideal for sniffing out certain odors. Their noses are capable of detecting odor concentrations of one to two parts per trillion and are 10,000 to 100,000 times more sensitive to odors than a human's nose, according to the Global Forensic and Justice Center Detection Dog Program at the Florida International University in Miami.

In 1998, FIU developed the first statewide K9 trainer and detection team certification program as a joint project between the International Forensic Research Institute and the National Forensic Science Technology Center.

FIU is now a global leader in scientific advancements for canine detection. The university works in collaboration with the Florida Highway Patrol Contraband Interdiction Program and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement along with county and municipal law enforcement partners.

At the direction of Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, I-75 has become the focus of law enforcement efforts to fight drugs, human traffickers and smuggled arms.

Additionally, this 471-mile stretch of highway, the longest in Florida, has been nicknamed Coyote Alley due to its growing use as a route to smuggle undocumented immigrants into the country.

It's the longest interstate east of the Mississippi River, making it ideal for smuggling everything from MDA to AR-15s between Canada and Key West.

Even before her election as attorney general, Moody vowed to combat drugs in Florida that not only killed young people but destroyed families and led to increased crime.

Deaths from drug poisoning involving fentanyl-laced cocaine have increased about 251 percent from 2010 to 2018, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency. The U.S. states with the greatest number of deaths from drug poisoning involving cocaine in 2018, in descending order, were New York (1,276 deaths), Florida (1,221), Ohio (1,105), Pennsylvania (1,045), New Jersey (867), Illinois (771), Michigan (768), Texas, (741), Massachusetts (716) and North Carolina (711).

Florida’s proximity to ports with water vessels bound for the Caribbean makes it ideal for smuggling cocaine. The greatest amount of cocaine by weight seized in 2019 by the DEA was along Florida highway, high-traffic international airports and seaports.

California had the second-greatest amount of cocaine seized in 2019 and Pennsylvania the third. The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico had the fourth-largest amount of cocaine seizures.

The DEA’s Caribbean Field Division reported a major increase in cocaine seizures from inbound maritime cocaine smuggling ventures running from Colombia and Venezuela into Puerto Rico. From there, the drugs are smuggled 1,131 miles from the Dominican Republic or 2,655 miles from Puerto Rico to Florida by boat, plane, mail and, increasingly, by submarine.

The U.S. Coast Guard has dubbed them "narco-submarines." They are custom ocean-going self-propelled submersible vessels built specifically for drug smuggling. Because they are nearly fully submersible, they are difficult to detect visually, by radar, sonar and infrared systems, and can carry a 17,000-pound cargo.

However, because the four-legged drug enforcers and their bipedal partners often work undercover and behind the scenes, their efforts are rarely publicized, said Moody.

To remedy this, Moody created the "Thin Line Tribute" in February to recognize these unsung heroes.

"Too often, daily work of frontline law enforcement officers goes unnoticed and unappreciated," she said. "Thin Line Tribute is designed to honor and recognize the men and women and their K-9 partners who serve on the front lines and dedicate themselves to keeping their community, and Florida as a whole, safe.

While K9s Flash and Titan don't mind posing for photos and being the center of attention, onlookers couldn't help but wonder if the dogs were hoping the awards came with a big, juicy steak.

Good boys.

See related story: Human Trafficking Arrests On Rise Along Florida's I-75 Corridor