FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — Nine individuals, including six Flagler County residents, have pleaded guilty to transporting methamphetamine and cocaine from Mexico, to the west coast of the United States and into Central Florida.
The investigation took two years and was a joint effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Daytona Beach Resident Agency, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Flagler County Sheriff's Office, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, the Daytona Beach Police Department, and the Deland Police Department.
The indictments were handed down in 2023, and the following nine suspects have since pleaded guilty or been found guilty for drug trafficking:
- Zara Mascarella, 20, from Palm Coast, Florida. Sentenced to 5 years in prison.
- Camarie Shavers, 23, from Bunnell, Florida. Sentenced to 2 years, 6 months in prison.
- Alfred Shavers, Jr, 26, from Bunnell, Florida. Sentenced to 5 years in prison.
- Alfred Shavers, Sr, 50, from Bunnell, Florida. Sentenced to 16 years in prison.
- Jimmie Lee Bizzell, 53, from Bunnell, Florida. Sentenced to 6 years in prison.
- Tyrone Jones, 56, from Palm Coast, Florida. Sentenced to 10 years in prison.
- Wendell Ferreira, 42, from Berlin, Connecticut. Sentenced to 2 years, 9 months in prison.
- Luis Miguel Hernandez, 36, from Phoenix, Arizona. Sentenced to 9 years, 1 month in prison.
- Saul Sandoval, 41, from Phoenix, Arizona. Sentenced to 10 years in prison.
“This case was the largest Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) investigation the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has ever been involved in," Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said. "I want to commend everyone that was involved in dismantling this Drug Trafficking Operation which had ties to a Mexican Cartel."
The investigators deemed the joint investigation "Operation Ice Man," which kicked off on Halloween day in 2022, as search warrants were executed at six locations in Palm Coast, Bunnell and Daytona Beach.
The search warrants uncovered 45 kilograms of meth, 2.7 kilograms of cocaine, nine guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
Jones, Mascarella, Alfred Shavers Sr, Alfred Shavers Jr, and Camarie Shavers, were identified as the drug distributors in Central Florida.
They reportedly received the drugs via a commercial truck, operated by Bizzell, delivering from Phoenix and Los Angeles.
Sandoval and Hernandez were identified as the sources of the meth and cocaine being delivered from Phoenix and Los Angeles. Investigators said Sandoval and Hernandez brokered deals with dealers in Mexico who were sending the drugs across the border for them to sell.
Officials believe the Sandoval and Hernandez sent more than 300 kilograms of drugs to Central Florida since 2021.
Sandoval was arrested in Phoenix and Hernandez in Los Angeles.
