Sheriff Eric Flowers outlines multi-year fentanyl crackdown, arrests of opioid dealers

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY - Medicine to combat drug overdoses carried by first responders and law enforcement's crackdown on dealers of deadly opioids including fentanyl, have led to fewer overdose deaths, dozens of arrests, and the seizure of pounds of narcotics, a sheriff's official said.

Nasal sprays carried by deputies and provided to those in jail at the end of their sentences, plus ongoing drug operations were part of an all-around effort to tackle the use of fentanyl and its distribution in the county outlined in an Indian River County Sheriff’s Office news conference Tuesday afternoon.

Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid used for pain relief, is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine, according to DEA.gov.

“There’s very few counties that are following up and actually making arrests on the deaths,” said Sheriff Eric Flowers. “Every time we have a fatal (overdose)… we’re working it backwards. We’re going to find who sold these drugs and if we’re able to make a case … we’re going to hold them accountable for that person’s death … we’re making arrests and we’re putting these people in federal prison…”

Results of two narcotics operations dating back to 2021 were presented to media gathered in Flowers’ office Tuesday afternoon.

Of 13 people swept up in “Operation Ghostbuster” dating back to 2021, so far, four are under federal indictments and two federal charges, and detectives seized nearly 3 pounds of fentanyl, 14 pounds of cocaine, 9 pounds of methamphetamine and just over a pound of MDPV (bath salts sold as recreational drugs), guns and over $25,000.

“Operation Knockdown,” began in 2023, has, so far, led to 12 arrests and the seizure of 1 pound of fentanyl, nearly 5.5 pounds of methamphetamine and cocaine.

Among those, five were sentenced to federal prison for between five and 13 years; the others to state prison or jail time.

“A number of these folks have recently been brought in for federal, for state charges, and we’re finally at a point where we’re ready to disclose all of this information,” Flowers said.

At least one person was connected to Operation Weeping Willow, which focused on narcotic activity near Fellsmere in 2022, while several drug sales were conducted in and around a former adult arcade off U.S. 1 at Oslo Road, according to the agency.

“We have had rolling operations since I took office as sheriff,” Flowers said. “We don’t just stop when we have an operation like this. We’re constantly rolling on these.”

According to figures provided by the agency, there were 11 fatal overdoses in 2021; 24 in 2022; 22 in 2023, and 7, so far, in 2024. Of the seven, at least three were narcotic-related. The numbers include all overdose deaths, including possible accidental medical overdoses, a sheriff's official said.

Flowers said seven people were arrested in connection to fatal overdoses in 2021; nine in 2022; three in 2023 and one so far this year.

“Each one of these cases is a full operation in and of itself, but pulling this together and getting these people off the streets is a really, really big deal for our team,” he said.

Overall, Flowers said fentanyl-related fatal overdoses are down compared to previous years and he attributed that to naloxone nasal spray, known under the brand name Narcan.

Deputies are equipped with two doses, and every person in jail is instructed how to use the medication before being given two doses upon the end of their jail sentence, he said.

The decline in deaths, he said does not reflect a decline in the overall number of overdoses.

“We bring people back to life every single day,” he said.

The U.S.-Mexico border was a topic in Flowers’ presentation, following what he said was his recent DEA-funded law enforcement trip to the Texas and New Mexico southern borders.

He said his detectives had traced at least some of the narcotics in the county to trafficking across the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Every bit of this fentanyl that we get is coming across the Mexican border,” he said.

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Corey Arwood is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers. Follow @coreyarwood on X, email corey.arwood@tcpalm.com or call 772-978-2246.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: IRC sheriff outlines fentanyl crackdown, arrests of opioid dealers