CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – An undercover operation nearly two weeks ago led to the seizure of 26 pounds of crystal meth and the arrest of a 19-year-old California man, Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook said Tuesday.
“The narcotics seized have a street value of approximately $200,000,” Cook said at a news conference announcing the results of the drug bust.
The suspect, identified by deputies as Ricky Overton, is charged with trafficking methamphetamine. As of Tuesday, he was being held in the Clay County jail on $25 million bond.
On Jan. 27, according to narcotics investigators, Overton attempted to sell a large quantity of crystal meth to an undercover deputy for $75,000 in a grocery store parking lot in Green Cove Springs off Highway 17. According to investigators, Overton showed up in an Uber ride then walked toward the undercover deputy with a suitcase filled with packages of crystal meth, and that’s when deputies took him into custody.
When questioned, according to deputies, Overton, who’s from the Los Angeles area, admitted he flew from California to meet the undercover deputy. Overton said he received the drugs from a man in California and was told to fly to Florida to deliver them to the undercover deputy, according to investigators.
“I don’t care if you’re a mule or the person making the drugs. You are still part of a drug trafficking industry that is bringing dangerous drugs into our county, so no matter what you’re role is, you are bringing these bad things into our community, and it’s not going to be tolerated,” Cook said. “Last year alone, the Clay County Fire and Rescue responded to more than 500 overdoses, and we worked more than 50 overdose deaths last year. So we take these drugs seriously, and if you’re bringing this type of weight into our community, there will be harsh penalties.”
Investigators said they don’t believe the crystal meth originated in California.
“It is our theory that it was coming across the border, especially since it came here from California,” said Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit Director Wayne McKinney.
Cook said: “The open borders are a problem. We are seeing a significant amount of drugs making their way to Clay County because of open borders, and that concerns me as a sheriff.”
Jacksonville DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Mike Dubet and his agents were not part of this investigation, but Dubet said the likelihood of these 26 pounds of crystal meth being produced by drug cartels in Mexico is very high.
“Twenty-six pounds of meth — that is something made in a super lab, more than likely across the border in Mexico. It’s massed produced over there and then transported into the United States,” Dubet said.
According to federal agents, in recent years, especially during the height of the pandemic, drugs from Mexican cartels have been smuggled across the border via large commercial vehicles. Federal agents said the drugs are then driven to regional distribution hubs, and Los Angeles has been identified as a distribution hub run by cartel operatives.
Cook said the war on illegal drugs entering Clay County cannot be fought by law enforcement alone — it takes a community effort.
“If you have any information on any illegal narcotics activity o any illegal activity in Clay County, I ask that you submit a tip through our SaferWatch app,” Cook said. “You can download that app on your smartphone and you can remain anonymous.”