Martin County Sheriff William Snyder has concluded that Interstate 95 and the Florida Turnpike are awash in illicit drugs, following a recent three-day interdiction program.
Snyder said law enforcement personnel were placed on I-95 near County Road 714 on Jan. 31, and Feb. 1 and on the Florida Turnpike on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 4.
He said the newly-formed interdiction team made 150 stops resulting in 102 arrests. The team also seized more than $16,000, firearms, and heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, MDMA, cannabis, hash oil, Oxycodone, Alprazolam and LSD.
"It seems to us that the interstate and that turnpike are awash in illicit drugs and I think by extension... our communities are awash in drugs," Sheriff Snyder said at a news conference.
"We only made stops subsequent to observing traffic violations," Snyder said.
Five undocumented workers were also taken into custody following the traffic stops and turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol.
The sheriff said his department received the assistance of the DEA, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, Florida National Guard Counterdrug Program, FHP and the Highlands County Sheriff's Office.
"We don't do this to have press conferences, we do this because this is the poison on our street," Snyder said.
The sheriff said in 2016, more than 64,000 people died of drug overdoses.
