INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — An Ocala man was jailed in connection with an undercover drug probe that netted nearly 2,000 pressed fentanyl pills disguised as oxycodone, sheriff’s officials said. The man, identified as Alberto Ayala, hid the pills in a plastic bag under the air intake filter of a vehicle, reports show.
Deputies continue to search for a second suspect they believed was also involved with the drug sales.
“Folks would buy this thinking they’re getting oxycodone and it’s straight fentanyl. These are deaths. These are pills that would’ve absolutely killed people in our community,” Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers said during a news conference Friday at the agency. “This was a massive quantity of drugs that are not on the streets because of our team. This was a couple hundred thousand dollars’ worth of drugs that would’ve ended up on the streets of Indian River County.”
The Wednesday bust was part of the sheriff’s office’s efforts to rid illegal drugs out of the community following reports of fatal overdoses on fentanyl. The months-long investigation led deputies to target several individuals, including Ayala.
Alberto Ayala PHOTO PROVIDED BY INDIAN RIVER COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Ayala, 52, was charged with two counts of trafficking in cocaine, two counts of trafficking in fentanyl and four counts of unlawful use of a two-way communications device. Ayala was held Friday at the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office on a $500,000 bond.
Deputies also recovered more than two kilograms of cocaine during the probe. Flowers said Ayala has no connection to Indian River County, but would regularly travel to the area to deliver and sell narcotics.
“We cut off a massive supply that would normally make its way directly to the streets,” Flowers said. “This guy knew there are people in our community willing to buy this large quantity to sell at the street level. A lot of times they make more money selling it here than in Orlando or Miami where it’s more readily available. They see this as a way to make additional money.”
An undercover sheriff’s detective made contact with Ayala on May 1. Deputies learned that Ayala had a large supply of drugs, including 1,800 fentanyl pills, at his house ready for sale.
Ayala drove to Indian River County on June 12 and July 24 to sell the fentanyl pills and cocaine to the undercover detective, reports show. The two met at a location off County Road 512.
Both narcotics transactions were recorded on surveillance footage.
Deputies searched Ayala’s white Ford Ranger pickup and recovered a black bag with hard packed bricks containing a white powder, which detectives determined to be cocaine, reports show. Deputies found the fentanyl pills hidden in a cardboard box inside a plastic bag underneath the truck’s air filter.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid used to treat severe pain, is 100 times more powerful than morphine, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Flowers said the fentanyl pills seized in the bust could’ve killed thousands of people.
The sheriff said the drugs most likely can be traced back to shipments coming in from the border.
Deputies arrested Ayala after the second drug deal and booked him into the county jail. Ayala has an arraignment at 8:45 a.m. Sept. 5, court records show.
Flowers said the arrest was a big win for the sheriff’s office.
“Our team is monitoring the drug trade and overdoses. They are well aware of who all the players are,” Flowers said. “It’s just a matter of time before we’re in your living room, before we’re taking you off from a gas station. We will find you and we will get you.”
Photos provided by Indian River County Sheriff’s Office
