Florida: Governor Ron DeSantis Announces SAFE Program Delivers Record Seizures of Fentanyl
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ORLANDO, Fla. ~ Orlando, Fla. - Governor Ron DeSantis has announced the success of the State Assistance for Fentanyl Eradication (SAFE) grant program in providing law enforcement with the necessary resources to combat drug trafficking in Florida. The program, which was established in 2023, has led to record-breaking seizures of fentanyl and other deadly drugs.

During a press conference in Orlando, Governor DeSantis stated, "It was great to be in Orlando this morning to highlight the result that the SAFE program has delivered throughout Florida. Two years in, the impact is clear: SAFE is boosting law enforcement resources, helping take down cartel operations, and driving record-breaking seizures of fentanyl and other deadly drugs."

The SAFE grant program has provided local law enforcement agencies with funding to conduct large-scale drug operations across the state. This state-funded grant has been instrumental in getting hundreds of pounds of deadly drugs off the streets and making Florida a less hospitable state for cartel activity.

Since its inception, 200 approved SAFE investigations have resulted in 2,127 arrests and the seizure of 485 pounds of fentanyl and more than 63,000 fentanyl pills - enough to kill over 100 million people. In addition to fentanyl, the program has also helped seize 545 pounds of cocaine, over 300 pounds of methamphetamine, $4.6 million in cash, more than 730 firearms, and over 76 drug vehicles.

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Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass stated that FDLE is working alongside sheriffs and police chiefs to make Florida "the least hospitable state in America for cartel activity." He added that anyone caught pushing poison into Florida will be caught and taken to prison.

The success stories from the SAFE grant program are numerous. In Polk County alone, Sheriff Grady Judd's team alongside FDLE seized 64 pounds of fentanyl - enough to kill 14 million people - and arrested cartel members tied to both the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels. This was the largest fentanyl seizure in the county's history, and Polk County has seized more than 25% of all fentanyl captured as a result of the SAFE program.

In another case, FDLE agents in Orlando, Jacksonville, and Fort Myers arrested multiple suspects connected to a Mexican cartel. The coordinated takedown of these dangerous individuals on the same day is a testament to the hard work of FDLE's Special Agents.

FDLE also arrested a high-level cartel member in Orlando who was selling fentanyl and meth. During the bust, agents were able to seize over 4.4 pounds of fentanyl - enough to kill nearly one million Americans. In addition, they also arrested an illegal alien from Colombia who was a former Colombian paramilitary leader responsible for cocaine trafficking and had admitted to 29 murders.

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In South Florida, FDLE dismantled a fentanyl-laced meth ring that used street dealers at motels to flood communities with drugs. In another case, an illegal alien and Gulf Cartel human smuggler was caught smuggling other illegal aliens from Cuba, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Columbia into the United States while the Biden administration left the door open for him.

In Orlando, FDLE and Orange County Sheriff's Office launched Operation Burn Baby Burn - a multijurisdictional investigation that broke up a drug trafficking organization importing fentanyl from Mexico and California. This operation resulted in 17 arrests and the seizure of 6 pounds of fentanyl and 4 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of $1.5 million dollars - enough to kill 1.3 million people.

In Jacksonville, Operation Jacobs Ladder took down a Gulf Cartel pipeline that was sending monthly truckloads worth millions of dollars of cocaine, fentanyl, and meth into Northeast Florida. As a result of this operation, FDLE and Jacksonville County Sheriff's Office arrested 14 suspects, seized 164 pounds of cocaine, enough fentanyl to kill over one million Floridians, and over 75 pounds of other drugs. They also seized an entire tractor-trailer and 13 guns.

In Suwannee County, FDLE worked with the sheriff's office to seize enough fentanyl to kill the entire county's population 43 times over. In June of 2025, FDLE and Suwannee County Sheriff's Office seized enough fentanyl to wipe out the county's entire population 43 times over.

The success of the SAFE grant program is a testament to the hard work and dedication of law enforcement in Florida. Governor DeSantis has announced that he will be recommending additional funding for the program this year, and he urges the legislature to fully fund this essential program that is saving lives every day.

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