A 74-year-old wheelchair-bound woman is among 10 people arrested in a heroin ring bust in East Orlando.

Two others are still being sought, agents said.

At a news conference Wednesday, Orlando Police, Orange County Sheriff’s Office and others joined the federal Drug Enforcement Agency in sharing what they uncovered after a yearlong investigation: a network dealing not only heroin, but cocaine, marijuana and prescription drugs, as well.

They dubbed the operation “Deals on Wheels.”

“This organization, we’re going to conservatively say, was moving about two kilos a month,” said Jeffrey T. Walsh, DEA Asst. Special Agent.

Guns, drugs and cash were confiscated as agents infiltrated and shut down the ring. Agents said 223 grams of heroin were seized Saturday, and arrests were made as recently as Tuesday.

The group was bringing in around $300,000, agents estimated. While investigators are still sourcing the guns, they believe the heroin is from Colombia and that the drug dealing likely reached hundreds of people in Central Florida.

Agents: Elderly woman the main heroin seller

The operation was run from a home on Bowmaster Court, near Curry Ford and Goldenrod Roads. There, two convicted felons, Henry Torres and Miguel Ortiz-Ortiz, lived with a 74-year-old woman, Ruth Perez-Lopez.

The elderly, wheelchair-bound woman was the main seller of heroin at the home, according to agents. The home was outfitted with a high-tech security system; metal bars covered the windows.

After making the arrests, agents said that neighbors thanked them for shutting down the ring. “It’s an inherently dangerous business,” said Walsh. “It affects everyone who lives around them.”

Officials: Pill Mill crackdown fueling heroin rise

“As you all know, heroin is back on the rise, but this time it’s more lethal,” said Deputy Nancy Brown, with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

In the late 1990’s, heroin began to impact Central Florida with a high purity, low-cost product, the Central Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Director (HIDTA), Steve Collins, said Wednesday.

Based upon that, Congress designated seven counties in Central Florida to be eligible for funding from the Office of National Drug Control Policy. HIDTA has sinceprovided funding for 33 agencies in the region, with an annual budget of $3 million per year.

“Now what we’re faced with again is another perfect storm,” Collins said.

Collins said with the crackdown on pill mills, addicts are moving onto heroin, which is more widely available.

“It’s investigations like this that we need to proceed on and fund, and disrupt the command and control of these organizations,” he said.

DEA agents said that their new focus and approach revolves around tackling street-level dealers by working with state and local partners, like Orange County Sheriff’s Office and Orlando Police Department. They hope that such partnerships can halt the heroin issue -- before it reaches epidemic proportions.

“Our efforts don’t stop here with this operation. We’ll start up with another one,” said Deputy Brown.

“Hopefully if we keep working together, citizens and law enforcement, we’ll prevent that,” added Walsh.

The case is now being prosecuted by the State Attorney’s Office.


Almost a dozen people have been arrested as part of a drug ring investigation in east Orange County, several law enforcement agencies announced Wednesday. (Julie Gargotta, staff)