Jacksonville police: 2 drug trafficking organizations shut down in Operation Scarface

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams and officials announced the arrest of 15 people in a drug investigation, and two more arrests are pending.

Officers said 36 kilograms of cocaine, 1/2 kilogram of heroin, 4 lbs of marijuana, 22 firearms, four vehicles and $276,000 in cash were seized during the investigation.

The cocaine is valued at $1.26 million and the heroin is valued at $45,000, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said.

Officials with the State Attorney’s Office, the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Jacksonville Office, the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Florida Highway Patrol were in attendance at the Friday news conference.

Multiple officials conducted a year-long narcotics investigation called Operation Scarface. Detectives said it was named as such because one of the suspects, Phillip Bellamy, who was shot in the face in January 2016 during a possible drug related robbery.

The arrests of two Jacksonville men are pending: Phillip Bellamy and Dennis Hicks. Anyone who has any information about the whereabouts of either suspect is asked to call JSO at 904-630-0500, or Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS. You can remain anonymous and receive a possible reward of up to $3,000.

The investigation began with two suspects, Phillip Bellamy and Christopher Mizell, who JSO said operated in houses from multiple areas from the Southside to the Northside of Jacksonville. The houses were used to store and distribute powder cocaine and other drugs, JSO said.

Investigators said they learned that Bellamy and Mosell were members of separate drug organizations that were moving multiple kilos of cocaine into Jacksonville for distribution.

The operation dismantled the two drug trafficking organizations, Jacksonville police said. One of the organizations was supplied from Miami and the other involved Atlanta.

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Cox Media Group