Undercover operation leads to record-setting fentanyl seizure, multiple arrests in Lake County

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — A record-setting drug bust has led to more than a dozen arrests in Lake County, and deputies say there could be more to come.

The undercover operation led to the recovery of more than four pounds of fentanyl, 22 pounds of methamphetamine, and 13 firearms.

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“That amount of fentanyl could literally kill thousands,” Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell said during a press conference Thursday announcing the results of “Operation Sneak-A-Peak.”

It was a joint investigation between undercover agents from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, surrounding local agencies, Homeland Security, the DEA, and the FBI.

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Investigators identified three men: 40-year-old Cliff Johnson, 37-year-old Andrew Woodruff, and 50-year-old Charles Carter as the ring leaders, pushing drugs from Leesburg to Mt. Dora with street values of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

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“The operation required detectives to work around the clock and to travel to Georgia and throughout the state of Florida,” Grinnell said. “In doing so, they learned a lot of these drugs were originating in Mexico.”

Agents say they also discovered that the group was pushing a new synthetic opioid known as Isotonitazene, or ISO, which can be 100 times stronger than fentanyl.

“Much more potent, much more dangerous, much more deadly,” DEA Agent Chris Lane said. “We at the DEA, we’re focusing on a strategy of ‘one pill can kill.’”

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Deputies say all but nine of a total of 27 suspects have been taken into custody.

“Operations like this one save lives and put the pushers of poison behind bars,” Grinnell said. “So here in Lake County, I say, to be continued.”

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