At least 14 people facing charges after drug bust at Middleburg business

Jacksonville, FL — At least 14 people are facing charges, after the Clay County Sheriff's Office says they broke up a 'very bold' drug operation in Middleburg.

According to detectives, a month-long investigation revealed that suspects were selling narcotics from a Boost Mobile phone store during normal business hours, allowing customers to trade money and even property for the drugs.

"It was pretty shocking. The boldness of this operation.... I expressed to someone, it was almost like comparing it to a Black Friday event. Before the store would open, people would congregate outside. They would wait in line. If the store was a minute over the normal operation time, they would knock on front doors and back doors," said Lt. Domenic Panicia, with the Organized Crime Narcotics Unit with CCSO.

At this time, the sheriff's office does not believe any management or owners are tied to this operation. They're also making it clear that while Boost Mobile is where this crime occurred, there's nothing tying Boost Mobile as a corporation to the actions of these individuals.

As for how this investigation started, we're told it was a tip from the community.

"It started by, you know what, a member of our community saying, hey, something just ain't right here. Maybe, they frequented the store and the service wasn't up to par or something wasn't right. And that's exactly how it started," said Panicia.

The sheriff's office hopes this bust sends a message to the county.

"You know I have a boss [Sheriff Darryl Daniels] that his philosophy is that we're going to make it uncomfortable for not only the drug dealers, but the drug users in this community. I want to take it even a step farther. I want to make it not uncomfortable, I want to make it miserable for drug users, drug dealers. I want 'em gone. You know, we preach it all the time that 'you got options.' It's not just a cliche thing we say, we really mean it," said Panicia.

We're told investigators are still following up on leads in this case, so additional individuals could be facing charges.

WATCH: The Clay County Sheriff’s Office holds press conference on Middleburg drug bust

LIVE: Clay County Sheriff's Office holds briefing on drug bust involving Boost Mobile employees. UPDATES: https://bit.ly/2kHBB6M

Posted by Action News Jax on Thursday, September 12, 2019

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