POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Twelve people were recently arrested for allegedly having enough fentanyl to kill more than 95,000 people in Polk County, according to the sheriff’s office.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office announced that a family with a “long history of illegal narcotics sales in Winter Haven” was at the center of the investigation. PCSO said nine adults and three juveniles were arrested.
Following an investigation, PCSO seized Nearly $140,000 of illegal drugs from three homes in the Inwood community of Winter Haven last week, including 1,365.97 grams of methamphetamine, 980.13 grams of cocaine, 900.88 grams of MDMA (Ecstasy), 224.06 grams of fentanyl, 157.78 grams of marijuana, 8.88 grams of Oxycodone, 202 prescription pills, one pill-press, and one firearm.
Deputies called it a family-run drug trafficking operation.
“Members of the Rogers family are very well known to law enforcement and have been arrested many times over the years. They have been a cancer in the Inwood community for a long time, exposing families there to unwanted drug activity, gangs, violence, and more. We want these families to know that we’re doing everything in our power to put a stop to it,” Sheriff Judd said in a statement.
According to PCSO, several members of the Rogers family have resided in multiple homes in the Inwood neighborhood over the years and “have been trafficking drugs and committing other times in the area since the 1980s.”
On Thursday, search warrants were executed at several homes. PCSO said that 38-year-old Kenneth “Pop” Rogers, who allegedly heads the family-run operation, was already in the Polk County Jail before the search.
During the search of the first home, detectives recovered 152.5 grams of marijuana, 311.15 grams of cocaine, 118.6 grams of methamphetamine, and .47 grams of fentanyl. Three people were also arrested inside the home.
The father of Kenneth, 69-year-old Odia Rogers, was arrested and charged with trafficking methamphetamine, possession of structure to traffic narcotics, use of a two-way device to commit a felony, possession of fentanyl, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia. His prior criminal history consists of 14 felonies and six misdemeanors, and he’s been to state prison once.
31-year-old Tameka Rogers, the daughter of Odia, was also arrested and charged with trafficking cocaine, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, possession of marijuana over 20 grams, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Her prior criminal history consists of five felonies and three misdemeanors.
Odia’s girlfriend, Theresa Prince, 59, was also arrested. She was charged with possession of fentanyl with intent to sell, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Her prior criminal history consists of one felony and two misdemeanors.
At the next home, detectives recovered 425.73 grams of MDMA (Ecstasy), 277.32 grams of cocaine, 198.94 grams of fentanyl, 8.88 grams of Oxycodone, 76 Alprazolam pills, and a Ruger P65 9mm handgun. The only person arrested at this home was Odia’s 39-year-old son.
Rafel Rogers, 39, was charged with armed trafficking in cocaine, armed trafficking in oxycodone, trafficking in fentanyl, trafficking in MDMA, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a structure for trafficking narcotics, possession of alprazolam, and possession of drug paraphernalia. His prior criminal history consists of 43 felonies and 33 misdemeanors, and he’s been to state prison twice.
At the search of the third residence, authorities recovered 359.93 grams of cocaine, 475.15 grams of MDMA (Ecstasy), 5.26 grams of marijuana, and .18 grams of fentanyl. Additionally, detectives located a mechanized pill press machine which is suspected of being used to manufacture fentanyl and MDMA pills.
Four people were arrested at the residence, including three juveniles.
Jordan Rogers, the 21-year-old grandson of Odia Rogers and son of Rafel, was charged with trafficking in cocaine, trafficking MDMA, possession of structure to sell narcotics with minors present, possession of structure to traffic narcotics, possession of fentanyl, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
A 16-year-old girl was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Another 16-year-old was also arrested and charged with trafficking in cocaine, trafficking in MDMA, possession of fentanyl, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Lastly, a 15-year-old was charged with possession of cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Then, on April 20th, two other men were arrested, 32-year-old Gerard Hall and 36-year-old Alpavin Tucker. According to PCSO, both men were involved with the Rogers family operation and are currently still in the Polk County Jail.
Additionally, one other Rogers family member was arrested by Polk County deputies during a death investigation in May 2023, when a 19-year-old woman died from a possible drug overdose.
According to PCSO, 28-year-old Dominique Rogers was at the home when deputies arrived for the possible overdose. While at the home, the 28-year-old allegedly re-entered the crime scene after deputies arrived and “began picking up items after being ordered not to do so.” He was charged at that time with resisting/obstruction. The investigation into the woman’s death is still ongoing.
On June 14, Dominique was also arrested by Manatee County and charged with two counts of second-degree murder for a crime that occurred in their jurisdiction.
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