Officials: Police bust drug traffickers in northwest Cape
Cape Coral police responding to a shots heard call found more than they bargained for early Thursday morning, according to officials.
At about 3:15 a.m., police responded to 611 N.W. 20 St. on a complaint of “shots heard.” Responding officers made contact with two men, one later identified as Yhosvany Herrera-Padron, 46, of 611 N.W. 20th St., in the driveway of the residence.
Officers saw the back sliding door shattered through the open front door and conducted a protective sweep of the house. Inside, they located a third man, Adrian Morales-Hernandez, 24, also of 611 N.W. 20th St.
Officers also saw a large black garbage bag full of harvested marijuana, according to officials. Morales-Hernandez was escorted out of the house and a narcotics investigation ensued.
Prior to being detained, one of the men took flight from officers at the scene. A perimeter was set up in the area with the assistance of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office aviation and K-9 units, but the man was unable to be located.
The investigation revealed that the house contained equipment for processing marijuana, including drying equipment, packaging equipment and GPS trackers for transportation. Officers found two additional large garbage bags full of harvested marijuana “bud” on the side of the house.
In total, three bags of harvested marijuana were seized weighing 61 pounds, officials reported.
Based on the investigation, it is believed that Herrera-Padron and Morales-Hernandez were the target of a robbery of the marijuana. Investigators believe that the suspects knew that there was a large amount of marijuana that was going to be transported and waited for it to be brought outside.
During the robbery, shots were fired and the suspects in the robbery drove away before being able to steal the marijuana.
Herrera-Padron and Morales-Hernandez were each arrested and charged on drug trafficking charges, then transported to the Lee County Jail for booking.
“A drug operation like this can be set up anywhere and it can bring an element that will commit violence and endanger not only those involved in the criminal enterprise, but their innocent neighbors as well,” Sgt. Dana Coston, spokesman for the Cape Coral Police, said via a prepared statement