The special agent in charge of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Pensacola operations center announced Nov. 24 that agents conducted a massive drug bust within Pensacola that ended with 15 arrests and seizing enough fentanyl to kill millions of people.
Special Agent in Charge Chris Williams announced that the FDLE’s operation, which included arrests Nov. 19 near The Home Depot, ended with 15 people being arrested as “part of a group that was trafficking fentanyl and a whole bunch of other drugs in Escambia County and beyond.”
“Thanks to the tireless effort and coordination of our special agents, crime intelligence analysts, partner law enforcement investigators and our State Attorney’s Office … these drugs are no longer circulating our streets, and the individuals responsible for bringing them into our community are no longer able to harm the people of Escambia County,” Williams said during the press conference.
As part of the arrests, investigators seized over 14 pounds of fentanyl, 4 pounds of xylazine, 58 pounds of methamphetamine, 35 pounds of marijuana, 2 pounds of cocaine, 30 firearms, over $60,000 and five vehicles.
Agents arrested Jashu Bonner, Gretchen Duplechain, Billy Johnson, Antoine Jones, Michael Robinson, Anthony Saulsberry, Donterious Evans, Ivory Fogan, Courtney Killette, Anthony Kimble, Colton Sims, Johnny Stallworth, Rhondell Grandison, John Porterfield and Cordarious Wheeler.
Williams said during the press conference that there are seven additional suspects with outstanding arrest warrants linked with the operation, dubbed “Operation Notthingham.”
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, 2 milligrams of fentanyl are considered a lethal dose. The 14 pounds of fentanyl could be enough to kill over 3.1 million people.
FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass also attended the press conference and said that Florida’s State Assistance for Fentanyl Eradication (SAFE) grant instituted in 2023 provided additional resources that helped the agency investigate the alleged drug ring and arrest the suspects.
“This product has come in and infested our state, and it is killing people left and right in our state,” Glass said. “It is a weapon of mass destruction. The amount of people it can kill is unreal.”
According to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office, the SAFE grant program, as of Sept. 2, 2025, has contributed to over 2,000 arrests statewide and the confiscation of 485 pounds of fentanyl — enough to kill almost 110 million people.
Escambia Sheriff Chip Simmons said during the press conference that fentanyl is the most dangerous and deadly drug he’s encountered in his 41 years in law enforcement, saying the drug is high on the ECSO’s priority list.
“Escambia County, Santa Rosa County, our region is safer today because there is 30 firearms off the street,” Simmons said. “Escambia County is safer today than it was last week.”
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: FDLE seizes enough fentanyl to kill over 3M people in Pensacola bust
Reporting by Benjamin Johnson, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
