CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) - Over $1 million worth of cocaine was taken off Florida streets after a 6-month narcotics investigation in Citrus County, deputies said.

Over $1M worth of cocaine taken off Florida streets after 6-month narcotics investigation, deputies say
Over $1M worth of cocaine taken off Florida streets after 6-month narcotics investigation, deputies say© Provided by WFLA Tampa

The sheriff’s office’s Tactical Impact Unit said it wrapped up the investigation that resulted in the arrested of 38-year-old Felix Abdiel Pintado Bernard, 28-year-old Angel Alberto Seda Ways, and 32-year-old Jennifer Medina Lozada.

Deputies said the arrests came after the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team and the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team served a search warrant at two homes on Kensington Avenue in Lecanto.

Deputies said the two homes were being used to traffic large quantities of cocaine.

The homes were originally identified through a traffic stop where Ways was found to be in possession of cocaine, deputies said.

The sheriff’s office said it began a joint investigation with the United States Postal Inspection Service, United States Marshal Service, United States Department of Homeland Security Investigations Tampa Airport Division, United States Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations – Tampa Marine Unit, Hernando County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team and the State Attorney’s Office of the Fifth Judicial Circuit.

Investigators said they learned that packages of cocaine were being mailed to multiple addresses within Citrus County, then picked up and delivered to the Kensington addresses.

Over a six-month span, deputies said multiple kilos of cocaine were seized by TIU. Through each seizure, investigators said more information was gathered, which culminated in probable cause for the search warrant.

While serving the search warrant, Ways and Lozada both fled from the property but were taken into custody by perimeter units within seconds, deputies said.