9 drug-ring suspects arrested this week, Seminole sheriff says

Members of a suspected drug ring arrested this week brought 25 to 30 kilograms of cocaine into Central Florida every month, Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said Friday.

Nine suspects face charges including trafficking in cocaine and heroin and racketeering. They were arrested Tuesday and Wednesday after a months-long investigation, he said.

“These are some very very bad guys, and I am absolutely convinced that the quality of life in Seminole County will be increased by taking these folks off the streets,” Lemma said, standing in front of a table displaying seized handguns and bricks of cocaine.

The arrest comes after Orange County deputies announced a large-scale drug ring bust of their own Thursday, though Lemma said the two rings did not work together. The Orange County operation brought 24 drug-trafficking arrests.

Seminole deputies and police departments in the county began investigating the ring over the summer after getting tips about it. At least one member, Quentin Wilson, 40, was a suspected dealer they’d had their eyes on for years.

Investigators believe the drugs came from Puerto Rico, as well as South Florida and the West Coast, deputies said.

Seminole deputies arrested Carlos Alicea-Mota, 27; Juan Montanez-Concepcion, 33; Osvaldo Nieves-Ortiz, 26; Kennya PerezDiaz, 29; Mar Perez-Diaz, 25; Roberto Perez-Guadalupe, 24; Quinton Rumph, 34; Terry Tillman, 30; and Wilson.

“The main players in this were organized, they’re not new to the criminal justice system,” Lemma said.

In all, deputies seized 1,400 grams of what they believe is heroin; 4,026 grams of cocaine; 26 grams of fentanyl; 176 grams of marijuana; and seven firearms, one of which was a handgun reported stolen from Orange County.

“We believe that we’ve made a major impact. Is it going to shut it down? You know, you cut one head off, three more are going to pop up,” said Sgt. Will Christensen of the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. “It’s difficult to re-establish that pattern of distribution, [and] everyone’s going to be a little more nervous now. It’s not going to stop it, but we will affect it.”