News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 14, 2009
Contact: Special Agent David Melenkevitz
Number: 954-660-4602

23 Arrested in Operation “No Leash”

OCT 14 -- (Daytona Beach) - Special Agent in Charge Mark R. Trouville announced today the dismantling of a major cocaine and marijuana distribution ring following a series of coordinated raids by Miami Field Division Drug Enforcement Administration Agents and state and local police. Capping off a nearly 20-month investigation, Wednesday’s raids snared the two leaders of the organization, 34-year-old Edward Dragon of DeLand and 27-year-old Hilario Dela-Sancha of DeLeon Springs.

The drug trafficking organization (DTO) has been under investigation since January 2008, when agents with the Volusia Bureau of Investigation (VBI) learned that the group was moving large quantities of cocaine and marijuana through the DeLand area. Shortly afterwards, the DEA was brought in to the investigation. Even before Wednesday’s raids, the investigation had yielded four arrests and the seizure of cocaine and marijuana with an estimated street value of about $60,000. Based on information gathered in the investigation, dubbed “Operation No Leash”, agents secured warrants to search eleven homes. By early Wednesday afternoon, 19 people were in custody and fourteen kilograms of cocaine, four pounds of marijuana, nine guns, money and several vehicles were seized. Agents armed with arrest warrants continue to search for two additional defendants named in the investigation.

Participating agencies include the Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Attorney’s General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution, Daytona Beach Police Department, Daytona Beach Shores Department of Public Safety, DeLand Police Department, Port Orange Police Department, and New Smyrna Beach Police Department.

# # #