DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — A lengthy investigation by the Volusia Bureau of Investigation (VBI) culminated this morning in the raid of multiple indoor marijuana growing operations in western Volusia County. The searches turned up four extensive grows concealed inside residential homes, and multiple people have been detained and are facing arrest. All four grows are believed to be part of an organized marijuana production and distribution network with links to South Florida.
VBI is a multi-agency task force that pools resources from 10 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in order to target mid- and upper-level narcotics traffickers as well as racketeering and organized crime. Participating agencies include the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Attorney’s General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution, Daytona Beach Police Department, Daytona Beach Shores Department of Public Safety, DeLand Police Department, Port Orange Police Department, New Smyrna Beach Police Department, the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. VBI also is part of the Central Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, or HIDTA, which is a multi-agency task force established by the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy to combat drug trafficking along the seven-county area hugging Central Florida’s I-4 corridor.