Florida's drug dealers just learned what happens when a state actually means business.
Now Florida's Attorney General has taken out 49 of them in a single sweep – and the ringleaders aren't getting out anytime soon.
One of those ringleaders is staring down three separate 25-year sentences – and Florida isn't planning to run them at the same time.
Operation Ice Breaker II Dismantled a Five-County Poison Network
Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Thursday that 49 people have been arrested after a nine-month investigation into drug trafficking networks pushing fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine across Volusia, Flagler, St. Johns, Marion, and Orange counties.
The operation – dubbed Operation Ice Breaker II – wasn't a lucky traffic stop.
Investigators ran 45 controlled drug purchases, tapped eight separate phones, and identified five properties the organization was using as distribution hubs.
This was the sequel to Operation Ice Breaker I, which Daytona Beach Police launched in August 2024 and netted at least 20 arrests – but Chief Jakari Young admitted at the time that they hadn't caught everyone.
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So they went back.
"We got the opportunity to double back with Operation Ice Breaker 2," Young said.
The second phase pulled 807 grams of fentanyl off the streets – enough to kill thousands of people – along with 525 grams of methamphetamine, 101 grams of cocaine, five firearms, and nearly $20,000 in cash.
Every single gram of that fentanyl was one fewer lethal dose that doesn't end up in someone's kid or grandkid.
Vetrick Maurice Shavers Jr. faces a 20-year mandatory minimum on fentanyl trafficking conspiracy alone.
Richard Gene Hocker III is looking at a 25-year mandatory minimum.
Antonio Bejon Lee faces three separate counts of trafficking 28 grams or more of fentanyl – each carrying its own 25-year mandatory minimum.
"Thanks be to God, these guys are going to go away for a while," Uthmeier said.
“This joint investigation dismantled a criminal organization that pumped deadly fentanyl and other dangerous drugs into Florida communities,” Uthmeier added. “Through the tireless work of Florida’s law enforcement, state attorneys, and our statewide prosecutors, we have arrested 49 traffickers and disrupted these networks,” he continued. “Florida families deserve safe streets free of dangerous drugs, and we will continue holding every member of this organization fully accountable.”
This Is What Happens When a State Chooses to Fight
Florida didn't stumble into these results.
In 2023, Governor DeSantis signed CS/CS/HB 1359, which increased fentanyl trafficking penalties to the toughest in Florida history – up to a 25-year mandatory minimum for anyone caught trafficking 28 grams or more.
That law is exactly what's now burying the three ringleaders in this case.
DeSantis also created the SAFE program – State Assistance for Fentanyl Eradication – which funds exactly the kind of multi-agency, wire-intercept operations that just put 49 traffickers behind bars.
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The results are undeniable.
Attorney General Uthmeier said it plainly: "While fentanyl deaths have decreased, our fentanyl trafficking convictions have surged nearly 700% compared to 2024."
That's not a coincidence.
That's what happens when you treat fentanyl traffickers like the mass murderers they are, give law enforcement the resources to hunt them down, and make the sentences so severe that even the most committed dealer has to think twice.
Florida chose that path in 2023 – and fentanyl-caused deaths in the state dropped 46% in the first half of 2025 alone.
Every state still handing out plea deals to dealers whose product is killing people is making a different choice.
And someone's family is paying for it.
Sources:
- Kennedy Owens, "Florida officials announce 49 arrests in multi-county fentanyl trafficking investigation," Florida News, July 23, 2026.
- "Major Volusia County drug network dismantles with 49 arrests," WFTV/Yahoo News, July 23, 2026.
- "Florida's Opioid and Drug-Related Deaths Decline During First Half of 2025," Florida Department of Law Enforcement, May 13, 2026.
- "Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Major Decline in Fentanyl Deaths and Continued Support for Law Enforcement," Executive Office of the Governor of Florida, May 13, 2026.
- "49 arrested in Florida fentanyl, meth and cocaine probe," News4JAX, July 23, 2026.
