A traffic stop on Interstate 75 in Florida on Thursday resulted in the arrest of a convicted felon on a felony narcotics charge during a highway interdiction operation.
As part of an ongoing South Florida High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area highway interdiction initiative, Collier County Sheriff's Office Vice and Narcotics detectives, Patrol and Traffic deputies, and US Department of Homeland Security agents targeted traffickers and criminals who use the I-75 corridor to transport narcotics and contraband to Southwest Florida.
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“These ongoing interdiction initiatives protect Collier County residents from overdoses and death by seizing illicit narcotics before they are distributed into our community,” Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said.
At about 5:30 p.m., deputies stopped a white Ford truck at the 111-mile marker for a traffic offense. During a consensual search of the vehicle, deputies found 1 gram of the deadly opioid fentanyl concealed in the driver’s door.
Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl, enough to fit on the tip of a pencil, is enough to potentially kill the average person, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
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Deputies arrested the driver, Michael Wesley Palmer, 48, and charged him with possession of fentanyl. Palmer is a registered convicted felon in Florida with an extensive arrest history in Collier County dating back to 1994.
The South Florida High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) was established in 1990. This program fosters cooperation among law enforcement agencies in this region. It involves them in developing a strategy to target the region’s drug-related threats to public safety and its related violence.
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