News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 17, 2005

Operation Sweet Tooth

SAC Mark R. Trouville standing next to U.S. Attorney Paul Perez, Middle District of Florida and federal, state and local officials at press conference in Tampa, Florida
SAC Mark R. Trouville standing next to U.S. Attorney Paul Perez, Middle District of Florida and federal, state and local officials at press conference in Tampa, Florida

NOV 17 -- Operation Sweet Tooth is the culmination of an 18-month Organized Crime Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation that targeted an international MDMA ("Ecstasy") and marijuana trafficking organization, with ties to the Far East, Canada and the United States. Operation Sweet Tooth identified an organization based out of Vancouver and Toronto, Canada, that was responsible for a majority of the Ecstasy distributed in the United States. This organization imported MDMA powder into Canada, where it was pressed into pills at clandestine warehouses and then smuggled in bulk quantities into the United States. The organization was led by two overlapping drug transportation organizations with international ties, as well as ties to over 25 U.S. cities. Miami Field Division (MFD) offices in Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville and Pensacola initiated investigations on organization cells within Florida. On November 17, 2005, as part of a national enforcement operation, MFD groups in Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville and Pensacola arrested numerous subjects and executed search warrants throughout Florida. The largest number of arrests occurred in the Tampa DO, where 29 subjects were apprehended. MFD agents in the Pensacola RO arrested 24 subjects; Jacksonville DO agents arrested 15 subjects and Orlando DO agents arrested 3 subjects.

MDMA seized by Tampa DO agents
MDMA seized by Tampa DO agents

Altogether, MFD agents seized approximately $475,000 USD; 71,500 MDMA tablets; 33 kilograms of cocaine; over 100 pounds of marijuana and 2 pounds of crystal methamphetamine. MFD agents in Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville and Pensacola conducted the investigations with the following: Federal Bureau of Investigations, Internal Revenue Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Florida National Guard 53rd Infantry Brigade, St. Petersburg Police Department, Pinellas Park Police Department, Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Escambia County Sheriff's Office, Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office and Pensacola Police Department.