Martin County may seem relatively quiet compared to the rest of South Florida, but a growing drug problem captured the attention of the Department of Defense. Now, added manpower is yielding results.
Cash, drugs, guns, and pills cover a conference room table in the Martin County Sheriff's Office Wednesday.
“We don’t look at this as some kind of display of trophies," said Sheriff William Snyder.
The items were seized last week during a drug operation in Martin County.
“It’s disturbing that there’s this much drugs in just two days," said Sheriff Snyder.
47 arrests were made, most on felony charges.
Last year, federal authorities declared Martin County as the only county on the Treasure Coast as a high-intensity drug trafficking area. So the Sheriff’s Office set up a Criminal Interdiction team of 20 deputies to work with other local, state and federal partners to stop the flow of drugs on the highways.
“My place at the table is to try and prevent this stuff from ending up in the hands of our children and adults," said Sheriff Snyder.
“Obviously not every person on 95 is carrying drugs but when you see the numbers we had on just those two days, it’s pretty staggering," said Sergeant Travis Dykes.
Sheriff Snyder says there have been 152 overdoses in the county so far this year.
25 people have died.
“This is a cancer, and I don’t pretend that I’m the cure, but I’m at least the treatment," said the Sheriff.
Partners included the DEA, Homeland Security, Border Patrol, FHP, and the Florida Army National Guard. This was the group's fifth operation this year.