PARKER — Narcotics officers have raided what they say could be the county’s main front for crack cocaine manufacturing after a two-week-long investigation, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday.
Three men were arrested during the bust at a Parker home, and investigators also guns, more than $80,000 in drugs and about $53,000 in cash, BCSO reported.
BCSO officials said the town house at 145 Cheri Lane in Parker seemed to be used solely for crack production. The downfall of the operation could be the collapse of the main source for crack in the county, according to BCSO Capt. Faith Bell.
“I hope we have severed the head of the snake,” said Bell, who specializes in drug-related investigations. “With all the other addictive drugs on the streets of Bay County, the last thing we need is crack to make a comeback.”
The BCSO Special Investigations narcotics unit, with the assistance of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), had ratcheted up their investigation into the home over the past couple of weeks before obtaining a search warrant Friday night, according to a news release. About two months before then, however, officers began getting tips about a resurgence of crack cocaine in the area, Bell said.
“We started hearing a lot about crack, and at this point any amount is a lot,” she said. “Ten or 20 years ago, it would’ve been normal for those tips. For us to get any tips, we knew someone was manufacturing crack in Bay County.”
Investigators narrowed their sights on the residence rented to Julian Parker, 41, and Julius Gary, 49. When officers raided the home, they found nearly a kilo of cocaine, scales, quality packaging materials, two handguns and about $53,000 in cash. Other than some kitchenware for cooking the cocaine down to crack, no signs — like beds or couches — demonstrated the home was lived in.
Jermaine Hicks, 31, of 310 N. Cleveland Ave., also was arrested at the home.
Parker was charged with trafficking in cocaine, manufacture of cocaine and possession of a firearm by a felon; Gary was charged with trafficking in cocaine; and Hicks was charged with possession of marijuana less than 20 grams, BCSO reported.
Crack was a bane to law enforcement in Bay County beginning in the mid -1980s, Bell said. Up until recently, when cheaper narcotics like methamphetamine and prescription pills came into prevalence, crack was the frontrunner of dangerous drugs and was readily available throughout Florida.
Crack was abundant enough in the beginning that producers cooked up “pancake”-sized portions. But as time passed, dealers found that moving product was easier in “cookie”-sized potions, similar to the finished products found at the Cheri Lane home.
Bell said the types of pots used at the home also demonstrated two distinct regional styles of crack production. One set of measuring cups appeared to be stylistically from east of Bay County, while a set of camp cups were notoriously associated with the Albany, Georgia, area, she said.
Officials said they expect more arrests to come as a result of Friday’s raid.