Drug Sweep yields more than $400K cash, 8 vehicles, weapons, and jewelry..

Escambia deputies seized more than $400,000 cash early Wednesday during a drug sweep of 10 area homes.

Deputies arrested eight people on drug-related charges as a result of "Operation Talledega Nights," which began about 3 a.m. Wednesday.
A majority of the cash — more than $321,000 — was taken from a vacant house in the 7000 block of Dale Street off Burgess Road. Investigators believe the house's only purpose was to store drug money, sheriff's spokesman Glenn Austin said.
"We found the money hidden in the home's air-conditioning ducts and vents," he said.
Amber Larson , 27, lives next door to the Dale Street stash house and was shocked to learn about the drug sweep.
"We were awake until about 1 a.m., and didn't hear anything," she said of her and her husband. "We always saw people coming and going late at night but never expected anything like this."
Deputies recovered the remaining cash from a home in the 400 block of Elcino Drive, said Lt. Eddie Barnard, head of the sheriff's narcotics division.
Deputies also seized eight vehicles, two handguns, and numerous pieces of gold and diamond jewelry, including a gold fork studded with yellow diamonds.
Sheriff Ron McNesby called the operation "one of the biggest cash cows" he has ever seen.
"We believe these folks that we have arrested are responsible for supplying an awful lot of drugs to the Escambia County area," he said. "These are not street corner dealers."
Investigators believe the suspects arrested were part of the same drug network, Barnard said.
"One way or another, at different times, they interacted together," he said of those in custody. "Several individuals ran different groups and different parts of the operation."
Barnard would not elaborate further because of the ongoing investigation.
Investigators believe the money seized was earmarked to purchase drugs from Houston and Atlanta that then would be brought to the Pensacola area.
The owner of the home on Dale Street, whose identity was not released, was not arrested, Barnard said.
When deputies raided an Arapaho Drive home, Charles Borner Jr., 24, ran from the residence and into a lake on a nearby golf course before he was arrested, Austin said.
The Drug Enforcement Agency and Pensacola police assisted Escambia County deputies during the operation. Santa Rosa deputies also were involved because a house in Gulf Breeze was searched during the operation.
At the conclusion of the case, the money seized will be redistributed among the agencies that took part in the operation, McNesby said.
Here is a video from another busted operation...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEJ9hUVssY8

Pensacola News JournalPublished
11 arrested in drug bustAgencies find $100,000 in drugs, cash and guns
A multiagency investigation into drug dealing at Pensacola Village apartments nabbed 11 suspected dealers in an initial wave of arrests this week that seized more than $100,000 in drugs, cash and guns.At a news conference Wednesday at the Pensacola Police Department, State Attorney Bill Eddins described it as a "significant investigation with excellent results."Pensacola police started the investigation more than 10 months ago, but narcotics Detective Brad Burrus has worked the private housing project for about two years, making arrests and gaining links to a conspiracy that for years has plagued the government-subsidized private housing project.He said that when he previously would make an arrest, the dealer would quickly be replaced. This sweep was more comprehensive, Burrus said.The majority of those arrested did not live in the complex, but they used apartments of people who resided there, or simply sold from their cars or the street, he said."It's a housing project with several good people -- a lot of single moms with kids, and there are just a few bad apartments," Burrus said. "It was getting to where they couldn't live there anymore. There's dope everywhere. And they said they can't afford to move anywhere else."'Early-warning system'Patrol cars often saw nothing when they responded to calls of complaints because the dealers used lookouts, said Sgt. Steve Bauer, supervisor of the five-man Pensacola police vice and narcotics unit. The compound of apartment buildings has an entrance on Fairfield Drive and an exit on North Davis Highway."Pensacola Village had an early-warning system," Bauer said. "There was one way in and one way out. We'd get close, and phones would start ringing and people would start knocking on people's doors."Lookouts were able to alert dealers about police bike patrols, Bauer said.Eleven suspects were arrested Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, with warrants issued for eight others. Police identified Terrance Stallworth as a possible ringleader, but said the group did not have a rigid structure.The investigation is ongoing to determine the source of the drugs, Florida Department of Law Enforcement special agent Eli Lawson said.A virtual buffetA virtual buffet of seized drugs, cash and weapons were spread out over a large folding table at the police station:* Baggies containing chunks of cocaine larger than golf balls, totalling one kilogram, worth about $85,000. Each bag weighed about one ounce, or 28 grams. The bags sell for about $1,000, or the dealers will break the contents up and sell it for $100 a gram, Burrus said.* Two baggies contained yellowed "cookies" of crack cocaine.* An imposing Tec-9, a banned 9 mm rapid-fire gun about the size of an Uzi. It will be sent to an FDLE lab to determine if it is semi- or fully automatic, Burrus said. Charges will be enhanced if the weapon turns out to be a fully automatic machine gun.* About $16,000 in cash was spread out over the table, mostly in $100 bills and $20s. Officers also seized MDMA -- Ecstasy -- which was being sold as well.* About $1,000 worth of marijuana.* A custom-framed photograph of Colombian cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar, with a pistol and bag of white powder inset into the frame. Escobar was gunned down by a secret police unit in 1993 on the roof of a hideout in Medellin, Colombia.$100,000 grantThe Pensacola Village investigation was funded by a $100,000 Violent Crime and Drug Control Council grant awarded by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to the Pensacola Police Department.About 20 officers and agents were involved in the case, supplementing the five-man Pensacola narcotics unit. Escambia County Sheriff's Office; FDLE; the Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the State Attorney's Office were involved in the case, Eddins said.Manpower and cooperation"The goal of this was to stop drug dealing in Pensacola Village," Eddins said. "It was a lengthy investigation that required tremendous manpower and cooperation between the agencies."Officers searched one apartment at Pensacola Village and homes and apartments in the 3800 block of West Blount Street; the 100 block of Old Corry Field Road; the 6800 block of Tiki Lane; the 100 block of Cavalier Drive; and the 9400 block of Chisholm Road.Pensacola Village staff could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Bauer said the police department will attempt to "brainstorm" with management to prevent dealers from setting up shop again. Surveillance cameras or resident identification cards are possible.


DAMN HATERS!! And these fools wonder why its drier than tha sahara outchea!