Manatee deputies seize $1.7 million in county’s largest ever drug bust, sheriff says
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office says it has made the largest fentanyl bust in county history.
Detectives seized more than $1.7 million worth of drugs and weapons and arrested a suspected local drug dealer, while deputies say they are still searching for another suspected drug dealer.
“This is the most significant fentanyl seizure in Manatee County history, and our community and neighboring counties are safer because of it,” Sheriff Rick Wells said in a statement Tuesday.
The sheriff’s office said undercover detectives began investigating fentanyl sales at a suspected drug house on Sixth Street West in Bradenton in November. As part of the investigation, an undercover detective bought drugs at the home and identified Maurice Baxter, 23, as one of the dealers.
Deputies later determined Baxter to be part of a larger drug operation detectives were already looking into, according to a news release.
Detectives continued buying fentanyl from the suspected drug house before getting a search warrant and an arrest warrant for Baxter, according to the sheriff’s office.
Manatee’s largest-ever drug bust
On March 13, the sheriff’s office’s SWAT Team executed the search warrant and detained Tron Williams, 40, who was the only person inside, according to the sheriff’s office. Deputies said they did not find Baxter at the home.
Inside a second-floor bedroom that appeared to belong to Williams, detectives say they found 12.3 kilograms of fentanyl, including liquid pharmaceutical-grade citrate, along with 1 kilogram of cocaine, 1 kilogram of MDMA, 273 grams of methamphetamine, 822 grams of marijuana and 29.4 grams of Adderall.
The sheriff’s office said the fentanyl alone had a street value of $1.4 million. Wells cited federal estimates that 12 kilos of fentanyl can kill 6 million people.
“That’s more than the population of the entire Tampa Bay area, and that’s why this is a significant case,” Wells said at a press conference Tuesday morning.
Detectives also recovered multiple firearms, including an FN Five-seven handgun, which is sometimes called a “cop killer” because its ammunition can penetrate some types of soft body armor, according to the sheriff’s office. More than 1,000 rounds of ammunition were found in Williams’ bedroom.
Detectives have obtained warrants to compare DNA found on the drug packaging, according to the release.
Wells said investigators believe the fentanyl came into Bradenton from California after crossing the border from Mexico.
Williams faces charges of trafficking in fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine and MDMA. He remains in the Manatee County Jail without bond, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies are still searching for Baxter, who remains at large.
“These two drug dealers don’t care about lives,” Wells said. “They don’t care about the families that they destroy and who they hurt. All they care about is making money. They can sell their poison and make money each and every day off of the addiction of some in our community and they have no problem with that.”
Anyone with information on Baxter’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office at (941) 747-3011. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Manatee County Crime Stoppers at (866) 634-TIPS or ManateeCrimeStoppers.com.
This is developing story will be updated.
This story was originally published March 25, 2025 at 11:01 AM.
