Largest Heroin Bust in Orangeburg County History Happens During Traffic Stop

ORANGEBURG COUNTY, SC (WOLO)- Orangeburg County Deputies seized what is believed to be one of the largest heroin seizures in Orangeburg County’s history.

“This was the combined efforts of Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office narcotics agents, DEA, and the Highway Patrol,” the sheriff said. “In one stop, they seized what came out to be 4.4 pounds – not grams, but pounds – of heroin.”

Ravenell said that at streets values, the haul would have come out to an estimated $250,000 to $300,000 if it had made it through.

The driver of the vehicle, 42-year-old Javier Perez Flores, of Guadalajara, Mexico, according to an identification card of that country, was taken into custody by the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Flores was briefly held at the Orangeburg County Detention Center before being moved to an undisclosed facility. He will face a federal magistrate for a bond hearing on federal charges of trafficking heroin.

The three-agency team was working an area on Friday that centered on the interchange of I-95 and I-26 and the four spokes of the two highways.

Just after 8 p.m. and around mile marker 148 westbound on I-26, Highway patrol troopers noticed a vehicle weaving across the center line.

When the white Dodge truck was stopped, “Gus,” an OCSO German Shepherd trained in narcotics detection, alerted that narcotics were in the vehicle.

A careful search turned up a hidden compartment inside the truck known in the trade as a “trap.” Inside the trap was two kilograms – or 4.4 pounds – of heroin wrapped in black plastic and $15,900 in cash.

The truck was seized to be searched in the next few days for any more hidden compartments.

Agents said Flores admitted he was bringing the shipment from Mexico. Prior to Friday’s stop, Flores was less than two hours from what he said was his intended destination – Charlotte, NC.

The bagged narcotics are being handled with extreme caution. Heroin is often “cut” or mixed with other chemicals that are sometimes more dangerous than the heroin itself, agents say.

“I’m very proud of our agents, which includes Gus, and those of the Highway Patrol and the DEA,” Ravenell said. “Together these agents stopped a major heroin shipment from reaching the streets. The bad part for the ones carrying this is this team is going back out.”