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
CCSO concluded an ongoing narcotics investigation that led to the discovery of individuals who were operating a Boost Mobile phone store located at 2684 Blanding Blvd. as a distribution center for illegal narcotics to include heroin and methamphetamine. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/H3hdYG8sn2
— Clay County Sheriff's Office, FL (@ccsofl) September 12, 2019
Employees during normal business hours sold narcotics to individuals acting as common phone buyers. This operation was extensive to the point it not only was a cash operation, but also was common for individuals to trade property for illegal narcotics.
— Clay County Sheriff's Office, FL (@ccsofl) September 12, 2019