JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters announced Wednesday afternoon that 14 people have been arrested on drug charges at the end of a five-month-long narcotics investigation that included multiple law enforcement agencies.
Waters opened up the press conference saying that while the investigation initially began with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office looking "to address local narcotics trafficking," the investigation resulted in the dismantlement of five drug trafficking organizations in Florida, Georgia and Puerto Rico.
"The target of this investigation was a major drug trafficking organization in Jacksonville," Waters said at the press conference. "This organization was responsible for huge quantities of illegal fentanyl [and] methamphetamine trafficking."
The months-long investigation is called 'Operation Player's Club,' and it spanned from June 2023 to November 2023, according to Waters. The operation was birthed since the Jacksonville community has been "ravaged by the impact of drug addiction and related crime," Waters said.
"In 2023, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office investigated 433 overdose deaths," said Waters.
Waters says 14 people have been arrested already, as another 13 people will be arrested on pending warrants. Puerto Rico's role in the organization was as a supplier to drugs to the Jacksonville area.
"Paul Anderson, a significant drug trafficker in our area and one of the targets of this operation, is pending federal prosecution with our partners at the U.S. Attorney's Office," Waters said.
Law enforcement seized 26 firearms during the operation, according to Waters.
Here are the drugs seized in the operation:
- 118.53 pounds of methamphetamine with a street value of $663,768
- 12.5 kilograms of NDMA with a street value of $99,000
- 7.5 kilograms of powdered cocaine with a street value of $150,000
- 164.1 grams of crack cocaine with a street value of $16,000
- 2.25 kilograms of fentanyl with a street value of $121,500
- 13.58 pounds of marijuana with a street value of $40,740
"One overdose death in our community is one too many," Waters said at the end of the press conference. "Operation Player's Club shows how committed our agency and our partnering agencies are to enforcing the law, holding drug traffickers accountable and removing these poisons off our streets."