Sheriff Paul C. May has released the following information:

Reference: Search warrant nets drug seizure, two arrested.

On Monday August 2, 2010 at 9:50 PM, Okeechobee Deputies and Okeechobee Police from the Narcotics Task Force and Special Response Team conducted a raid on a home located at 3583 NW 8^th Avenue in the Whispering Pines subdivision of Okeechobee County.

While serving the search warrant the officers located two adults (both residents of the home) and three children inside the home (Children aged 15, 2, and 1 years of age.) Also within the home the officers collected: 98 Grams of suspect cocaine powder, large container of Super Inositol powder (cutting agent), 5 weight scales, packaging baggies, several bags of unidentified powder, $1416.00, and other items used to process cocaine.

The adults were arrested for Trafficking in Cocaine and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia with no bond.  They are:

Victor Sanchez- Benitez

W/M 03/06/66

Gena Michelle Villarreal

W/F 07/05/71

At the time of the arrest, Sanchez was out of jail awaiting a marijuana trafficking charge out of Gulfport, Mississippi.  Villarreal was under house arrest for a previous Possession of Controlled Substance charge.

The children were turned over to the Department of Children and Family Services and are physically fine.

Sheriff May said of the investigation, “If you’re selling drugs in Okeechobee…We’ll be coming to knock on the door…But we’ll probably not wait for you to answer.”  “I am so proud of our drug task for helping rid our community of these drugs and I am thankful to them.”