The Miami-Dade Police Department announced on Thursday that two brothers have been arrested on charges of trafficking Fentanyl.
Detectives, working undercover, arranged a deal earlier this year to buy 10,000 Fentanyl pills with a street value of $440,000.
The suspects, David Hernandez, 22, and Justin Hernandez, 19, agreed on the price and traveled from California to northwest Miami-Dade to complete the transaction.
Upon arrival at the agreed location, the pair removed the spare tire from their Chevrolet Silverado, revealing four vacuum-sealed bags containing Fentanyl M30 pills. They were subsequently taken into custody.
With the assistance of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials, two additional vacuum-sealed bags of Fentanyl M30 pills were recovered from inside the tire.
Both Hernandez brothers were charged with trafficking Fentanyl.
According to their arrest reports, David Hernandez stated that he was offered $10,000 to drive to Miami for a “drop off a delivery,” and then picked up his brother in Albuquerque, New Mexico, offering him $5,000 to assist with the drive. He also mentioned financial difficulties as a reason for accepting the job.
While the arrest took place on May 29, the Miami-Dade police stated that certain details of the case needed clearance before being publicly disclosed.
As of Thursday, David Hernandez remained held at the Metrowest Detention Center with a bond set at $500,000.
“I am extremely proud of our world class Police Department and their commitment to fighting crime, protect(ing) our residents and ensuring the safety of our community,” Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava stated in a statement. “This operation is proof of the exemplary work MDPD is doing to stop the Fentanyl epidemic that is affecting so many in our community.”
“I am extremely proud of the diligent efforts and steadfast dedication by my Narcotics detectives in ridding our streets of dangerous drugs, which ultimately saves lives,” Interim Director Stephanie V. Daniels added. “We are committed to keeping our communities safe and will use every resource available to investigate and arrest any individual(s) that puts our residents in harm’s way.”
