Pinellas drug operation and dog fighting ring busted, cops say

Pinellas law enforcement leaders say that after a year-long investigation, they have broken up criminal operations that orchestrated large-scale drug trafficking and dog fighting in the county.

The investigations uncovered hundreds of pounds of drugs that were delivered in the county and more than 100 dogs used for fighting that were found in crowded cages. The results of the investigation, which included the arrests of 23 people, were announced at a news conference at the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday afternoon.

The St. Petersburg Police Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement also were involved in the investigations.

Over the course of a few hours on July 19, law enforcement agencies discovered a stash of 54 pounds of methamphetamine, 21 pounds of cocaine, two pounds of black tar heroin, two pounds of fentanyl, 11 pounds of marijuana, three guns and more than $57,000 in cash at an apartment complex near U.S. 19 and Roosevelt Boulevard in Largo.

Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said “Operation Snowcap” began last summer when investigators received a tip that Deangelo Woods, 40, was trafficking 44 pounds of cocaine every two weeks through Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

The operation sent an undercover detective to buy directly from Woods, and they purchased more than four pounds of cocaine and a pound of methamphetamine on nine occasions, the sheriff said.

Through their investigation, detectives found that Woods’ supplier was Matthew Turner, 39, who got the drugs from a source in Los Angeles who sent them in boxes through the United States Postal Service and FedEx, Gualtieri said.

According to Gualtieri, the source in Los Angeles sent Jasmin Silva, 36, to Tampa where she would rent Airbnbs throughout Pinellas County to collect the packages. The drug ring also included Tania Rodriguez, 49, who stashed drugs at her Brandon home and the Largo apartment, the sheriff said.

As the group began to think law enforcement was onto them, Rodriguez wrapped the brown boxes that held the drugs in wrapping paper decorated as if it was meant for a child’s birthday party, Gualtieri said.

Throughout the operations, detectives in Pinellas County seized more than 27 pounds of cocaine, 55 pounds of methamphetamine, two pounds of fentanyl, two pounds of heroin, 81 doses of Xanax, one pound of prescription pills, 11 pounds of marijuana and other drugs.

“That amount of fentanyl getting out in Pinellas County is staggering,” Gualtieri said. “People should be concerned about the amount of drugs out there.”

Detectives also discovered that Ibon Small, 49, a known fentanyl trafficker and his associates, were involved in a dog fighting ring in several Florida counties and Georgia, officials said.

Video of the “Operation Pedigree” police raid on July 18 showed 111 dogs living in small kennels.

In addition, six people were rescued from human trafficking at one of the homes searched, St. Petersburg police chief Anthony Holloway said. Five others at the home were charged with trafficking fentanyl.

Another six were charged with animal baiting and fighting, as well as a conspiracy charge related to a gambling operation connected to the dog ring, according to Holloway.

The investigation into both the drug operation and dog fighting ring is ongoing and may lead to additional arrests, Gualtieri said.

“Any crime in Pinellas County leads back to these drugs. Drugs are too cheap, and people will do anything to sell them in our county,” Holloway said. “If you want to bring drugs to Pinellas County, it’s only a matter of time before we come knocking on your door.”