A yearlong investigation ended Thursday when the Collier County Sheriff's Office and multiple other partners arrested five people involved in trafficking methamphetamine in South Florida and California.
Arrests were made in Collier, Lee and Sarasota counties and in California, including Michael Stonebreaker and Jason Garff from Naples, Biron Bacher of Cape Coral, Stephanie Shaw of Goodland and Brian Tharp of Venice.
The sting was dubbed Operation Ice Breaker — "Ice" is a common street name for meth — and some detectives thought about adding "Breaker" to the operation name because of Stonebreaker, who is described as one of the "big fish" and whose bond is $3.25 million, CCSO Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said.
During the investigation, detectives seized or purchased about six pounds of crystal meth with a street value of $96,000 — the greatest quantity of meth CCSO has ever seized.
"This is truly what happens when there is a collaborative effort between our local, state and federal law enforcement partners," State Attorney Amira Fox said at a news conference Friday.
Arrested Thursday
Stonebreaker, 48, of Naples, was charged with two counts of conspiracy to traffic in meth and two counts of trafficking meth. His bond is $3.25 million.
Biron Bacher, 48, of Cape Coral, was charged with conspiracy to traffic meth and trafficking in meth. His bond is $2 million.
Stephanie Shaw, 43, of Goodland, was charged with conspiracy to traffic meth and possession of meth. Her bond is $300,000.
Jason Garff, 49, of Naples, was charged with possession of meth. His bond is $25,000.
Brian Tharp, 43, of Venice, was arrested May 19 by SCSO and charged with trafficking meth and possessing a controlled substance without a prescription. He remains in Sarasota County Jail on a bond of $501,500.
The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office seized 8.49 pounds of meth, 454.6 grams of marijuana, 67 prescription pills and $163,000 in cash.
In total, those involved in the meth-trafficking ring in South Florida and California conspired to traffic about 22.5 pounds of crystal meth — a street value of nearly $360,000.
"We believe we have made Southwest Florida a safer place by removing these individuals from the community," Rambosk said. "Saving lives is our number one effort."
How arrests saved lives amid opioid epidemic
Sarasota County Sheriff's Office Investigations Captain John Walsh stressed the significant amount of detective work that went into this sting.
"It's a 24 hour, 7-day a week job," Walsh said. "People have been away from their families to do this, but it is for a cause."
Walsh said that this is a direct result of the opioid epidemic plaguing the nation recently.
"That is serious. This isn't just a drug arrest," Walsh said.
Walsh said they've seen a direct impact between death and overdose rates in Sarasota and in other counties when these types of arrests are made.
"This arrest has saved people's lives directly," Walsh said.