Attorney General Moody’s Statewide Prosecution Secures 27-Year Sentence for Fentanyl Trafficker

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution secured a 27-year prison sentence for a fentanyl trafficker involved in transporting hundreds of grams of fentanyl into Florida. Robert Cox acted as a ringleader and the main source for transporting and providing fentanyl in a drug-trafficking organization. During the investigation, the Florida Highway Patrol located more than 306 grams of fentanyl in Cox’s vehicle.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “This ringleader of a drug-trafficking organization transported and supplied enough fentanyl to kill more than 150,000 people. Floridians, please know illicit fentanyl is extremely potent, just 2 milligrams is a lethal dose, and this poison is killing more than 70,000 Americans every year. I am grateful for our law enforcement partners’ strong interdiction efforts in this case and to our Statewide Prosecutors for securing a 27-year prison sentence.” 

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Tampa Police Department, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations began an investigation into a drug-trafficking organization operating in the Tampa Bay region and distributing fentanyl. From the onset, law enforcement utilized a confidential source and an undercover federal law enforcement officer to purchase trafficked fentanyl from Cox on more than three separate occasions.

During the investigation, an undercover agent arranged a meeting with Cox, who delivered an ounce of fentanyl. Cox then told the undercover agent he could get more and stronger fentanyl. After departing to retrieve more fentanyl, Cox returned to Florida and FHP stopped Cox’s vehicle in Sumter County. FHP found a vacuum-sealed bag underneath the rear passenger seat approximately a quarter to half a kilo in size. A test of the substance revealed the bag contained fentanyl weighing more than 306 grams. 

Attorney General Moody’s Assistant Statewide Prosecutors Luis Aguila and Ryan Shaw prosecuted the case.

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