A traffic stop in Ocala resulted in the arrests of a husband and wife and the largest amount of heroin seized in Marion County in a single case.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office says more than $100,000 worth of heroin, $20,000 in cash, three firearms, marijuana and miscellaneous drug paraphernalia were seized.
All of it was discovered following a Wednesday traffic stop for a window-tint violation. That’s when deputies said K-9 Aja sniffed out something more.
“During the search of the vehicle, based on her alert, we located almost 1.5 pounds of heroin, which was hidden in the bed of the truck inside of an AM/FM cassette player,” said Det. Jared Shealy.
The husband and wife in the truck were arrested. Stephanie Rodriguez, 32, and Felipe Rodriguez, 40, are facing felony trafficking charges. Deputies said Felipe already has a criminal history from trafficking heroin back in 1998.
“We were made aware of him awhile back and we just been conducting the ongoing investigation with him,” said Capt. Brian Dotten.
Detectives said they have been following him for some time.
Following his latest arrest, a search warrant was issued for their home in a gated community, an apartment, a warehouse and a utility trailer, where more weapons and cash were recovered.
While they believe he may only be a middle man dealer, investigators said the seizure of the 1.5 pounds of heroin should have a real impact on the heroin trafficking community.
“Typically in a year in Marion County, we have about 2.5 pounds that is recovered,” said Dotten. “So just in this one bust, we took a noticeable amount of heroin off the streets.”
The Sheriff's Office said they continue to see a rise in heroin throughout Marion County, but attribute proactive traffic enforcements as their best weapon for fighting the war on drugs.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office seized more than $100,000 worth of heroin, $20,000 in cash, three firearms, marijuana and miscellaneous drug paraphernalia. (Marion County Sheriff’s Office)