ORLANDO, Fla. – U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida Roger Handberg hosted special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration and Internal Revenue Service in Orlando for a Thursday news conference to announce the takedown of members in a yearslong, California-sourced drug trafficking conspiracy.
“This organization was led by Dudzinski Poole. Over the course of over six years, Poole and his conspirators brought thousands of kilograms of methamphetamine and fentanyl into this community in Central Florida to be distributed here and elsewhere in the United States,” Handberg said. “There were three different ways that this drug trafficking organization transported drugs. Planes, trains and packages.”
Handberg described how Poole’s organization used the Orlando International Airport to send couriers away to California on fetching missions with between $100,000 to $200,000 on their person.
“The couriers would take that cash, put it in their luggage and fly to California to purchase the drugs from the source of supply located there. The couriers would then fly back to Florida with their checked bags full of drugs, usually methamphetamine,” Handberg said. “A review of flight records for a two-year period has resulted in the identification of more than 350 flights taken by the conspirators during the course of the conspiracy. That equates to at least 100 round trips from Florida and California.”
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As far as rails, a chief example given was the April 2022 arrest of a courier at a train station in Virginia, reportedly caught with around 10 pounds of methamphetamine inside of a suitcase. For the packages, almost 400 that were shipped from California between 2021 and 2023 have been identified as part of the drug trafficking ring, carrying anywhere from one to 10 or more pounds of methamphetamine at a time, investigators said.
More than 70 kilograms of methamphetamine and 2 kilograms of fentanyl were recovered from couriers’ suitcases in total, with over 100 kilograms of the drugs seized overall, Handberg said. The organization had reportedly managed to transport vastly more by the time of the crackdown, however.
“One example involved Poole in his use of an entertainment company that promoted concerts. Poole sometimes would pay for some of the expenses for those concerts by using drug proceeds. Once the tickets were sold and the proceeds were earned, Poole would then use some of those proceeds from those ticket sales to deposit into an account that he had for a business where there was already drug proceeds commingled within,” Handberg said. “For over six years, this organization trafficked in thousands of kilograms of methamphetamine and fentanyl, thousands of kilograms that were intended for distribution here in Central Florida and elsewhere in the United States, but not anymore.”
Seventeen defendants will face charges in the investigation — most for allegedly conspiring to engage in money laundering and drug trafficking — with 14 having been arrested, three still sought and indictments made at every level, Handberg explained.
“The leader, his key partners, the source of supply, the couriers and those who directed the couriers and local drug dealers who distributed the drugs that came here to Central Florida,” Handberg said of the indicted.
Handberg was joined at the U.S. Attorney’s Office along West Washington Street by Deanne Reuter, special agent in charge with the DEA Miami Field Division, and Brian Payne, special agent in charge with the IRS Criminal Investigation Tampa Field Office.
“According to the indictment, Mr. Poole and other defendants have been running a multi-million-dollar drug ring in this community, in your community, for the past six years, but today’s arrests, search warrants and seizures are only the opening strike against these alleged activities, which although based in Central Florida have tentacles reaching California, Texas and the East Coast. So our work will continue from here as we seek to identify all those who have allegedly profited from this drug trafficking organization, and we will not stop until the entire drug trafficking organization has been identified, disrupted and dismantled,” Payne said.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Florida, the following subjects have so far been arrested in the investigation:
- Dudzinski Poole, 48, of Apopka, was arrested Monday in Marion County to face charges of drug trafficking conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and two counts of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Poole on Tuesday pleaded not guilty.
- Melvin Patterson Jr., 31, of Wildwood, was arrested in Marion County on Sept. 23, 2022, to face charges of drug trafficking conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and two counts of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.
- Andrew Woodruff Jr., 38, of Mount Dora, was arrested in Lake County on June 22 to face charges of drug trafficking conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
- Jose Carbajal, 33, of California, was arrested Wednesday in southern California by Riverside County sheriff’s deputies to face charges of drug trafficking conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
- Diego Navarro-Martinez, 32, of California, was arrested Wednesday in southern California by Riverside County sheriff’s deputies to face charges of drug trafficking conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
- Michael Chester, 48, of Apopka, was arrested Tuesday in Marion County to face charges of drug trafficking conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Chester on Tuesday pleaded not guilty.
- Samantha King, 32, of Altamonte Springs, was arrested Tuesday in Marion County to face charges of drug trafficking conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
- Felisha Williams, 34, of Apopka, was arrested Tuesday in Marion County to face charges of drug trafficking conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
- Rodrieka Manning, 25, of Apopka, was arrested Tuesday in Marion County to face charges of drug trafficking conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
- Janice Anderson, 65, of Mount Dora, was arrested Tuesday in Marion County to face charges of drug trafficking conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
- Oveda Miller, 60, of Mount Dora, was arrested Tuesday in Marion County to face charges of drug trafficking conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
- Roland Richardson, 63, of Mount Dora, was arrested Tuesday in Marion County to face charges of drug trafficking conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
- LaTonya Conley, 46, of Mount Dora, was arrested Tuesday in Marion County to face charges of drug trafficking conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
- George King Jr., 46, of Altamonte Springs, will face charges of drug trafficking conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
Leaders and representatives of various local law enforcement agencies were also at the news conference, including Orlando police Chief Eric Smith.
“Successful large-scale investigations like these are not possible without the strong relationships that we share with all of our law enforcement partners. This investigation reached from downtown Orlando to a source of supply in California. These arrests will directly impact violent crime reduction efforts in the city of Orlando and throughout Orange County. Over 80,000 Americans died of an overdose in 2022. Users of these dangerous drugs often resort to committing crimes that affect the safety and livability of our neighborhoods,” Smith said.
In addition to agencies mentioned, the investigation involved the U.S. Secret Service, Florida Highway Patrol, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, the Kissimmee Police Department, the Casselberry Police Department, the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation, the Orlando Police Department Special Enforcement Division and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to Smith.
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