Tampa, Florida – In a shocking turn of events, Robert Benefield, a 44-year-old Sarasota resident, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone in Tampa.
Benefield, who faces a maximum penalty of thirty years in federal prison due to his prior felony drug convictions, is accused of heading a Sarasota oxycodone distribution ring that brought in massive profits.
According to the plea agreement, Benefield recruited drug users in 2012 to unlawfully obtain Oxycodone and other prescription pain medications. He coordinated with doctors in the Miami area, and drove his co-conspirators from Sarasota to these doctors’ offices in Miami.
The doctors sometimes met with persons recruited by Benefield, and gave them prescriptions for Oxycodone and other pain medications. Upon their return to Sarasota, the co-conspirators filled the prescriptions and turned the drugs over to Benefield for further illegal distribution, in exchange for money and drugs.
Benefield also obtained prescriptions from doctors without having the prescribed patients actually present at the doctors’ offices.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Sarasota Police Department as part of Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Operation SRQ Cartel II.
The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher F. Murray.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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