Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is following in the footsteps of her predecessor Pam Bondi, continuing the state’s efforts of locking up criminals, especially drug dealers that fuel the opioid epidemic in the U.S.
Moody announced this weekend that her prosecutors were able to attain “lengthy prison sentences for two heroin traffickers” and continue to search for a third convicted trafficker, Erik Nunez-Nino, who is now a fugitive of the law.
The two convicts, Marco Deems, and Sean McCann were sentenced to 25 years and 20 years, respectively, for their involvement in a heroin trafficking operation.
“As we fight the opioid crisis on multiple fronts, we must continue to hold responsible anyone trafficking heroin in Florida,” said Moody “This case is a prime example of how we are doing that. Working with our great law enforcement partners, like the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, my Statewide Prosecutors are locking up drug traffickers and removing deadly opioids from Florida streets.”
Moody’s office released this summary of the investigation”
On March 24, 2016, detectives uncovered that Nunez-Nino planned to drop narcotics at an agreed-upon location where McCann would take possession. Deems served as the go-between, relaying logistic information to McCann. Detectives intercepted the narcotics and later confirmed the substance to be more than 27 grams of heroin.
The investigation began in the fall of 2015, when Lee County Sheriff’s Office investigators started looking into potential drug sales and trafficking conducted by a group of individuals, including Nunez-Nino. The investigation into Nunez-Nino’s activities led to the identification of Deems and McCann as additional traffickers.
Investigators learned of the group’s illicit activities by a court-approved wiretap warrant, allowing law enforcement to monitor the telephone conversations of Deems, McCann, and Nunez-Nino
