Heroin dealer sold to undercover detective several times, but it wasn’t always heroin

A Palmetto man is facing several drug charges after he sold heroin to an undercover detective several times — but that wasn't always what he was dealing, according to a Manatee County Sheriff's Office investigation.

Manvel Lee Canady, 26, was arrested Tuesday and charged with three counts sale of heroin, two counts of sale of fentanyl, sale of marijuana, sale of rock cocaine and sale of a fraudulent substance in lieu of a controlled substance.

Canady is being held at the Manatee County jail on bonds totaling $75,000. A hold has been placed on Canady, which prevents him from posting bond until a Nebbia hearing is held to determine whether any bond he posts comes from drug proceeds.

On Aug. 3, an undercover detective with the Special Investigations Division of the sheriff’s office went to the 900 block of 60th Avenue Terrace West after learning that narcotics were being sold from a home there. The detective spoke with a dealer, later identified as Canady, and asked for “80 worth of boy,” slang for $80 worth of heroin.

Canady went inside a Nissan Altima for a moment and returned, handing the detective four small bags of suspected heroin.

At the sheriff’s office, the 0.3 grams tested negative for heroin initially, but the sheriff’s office’s chemist later told the detective that the drug was fraudulent. Procaine, also known by brand name Novacain, and diphenhydramine, also known by brand name Benadryl, was detected, according to the report.

The next day, the detective returned and told Canady “hook me up” and gave him $100. Canady told him to get into a car, and the detective got into the backseat. The undercover detective was then given six bags of suspected heroin.

At the sheriff’s office, the 1.2 grams tested negative for heroin during an initial test, but later the sheriff’s office chemist was able to detect fentanyl.

On Aug. 9, the detective met Canady at the Mobil gas station, 5929 14th Street West, Bradenton, and got into the Toyota Camry he was driving. The detective gave him $100 and Canady gave him six bags of suspected heroin.

But back at the sheriff’s office the 0.5 grams tested negative for heroin but fentanyl was detected.

The undercover detective did not initially know the identity of the dealer, but on Sept. 9 he received an alert about a warrant being issued for Canady for sale of rock cocaine and sale of marijuana. The detective reported immediately recognizing Canady in the attached photo, which he then confirmed by pulling his driver’s license photo.

Canady’s criminal history includes a prior arrest for aggravated assault in 2013 and possession of rock cocaine in 2015. Both those cases were later dropped by the State Attorney’s Office.

This story was originally published February 16, 2017 at 5:19 PM with the headline "Heroin dealer sold to undercover detective several times, but it wasn’t always heroin."