Sheriff Paul C. May has released the following information:

Reference: Delgado Drug Arrest

Sheriff Paul May today announced that on July 19, 2010, after a six month-long investigation, members of the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Task Force (NTF), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) arrested the following subjects:

DELGADO, Eli AKA Cowboy, DOB 3-5-75

Conspiracy to Traffic Cocaine; Trafficking in Cocaine over 400 Grams, Trafficking-two counts, Trafficking Cocaine-two counts

CORREA, Rafael, DOB 2-5-79

Conspiracy to Traffic Cocaine, Trafficking in Cocaine Over 400 Grams

BREA, Wanda AKA Zaharia Marie Vieta-Rios,

DOB 11-22-86

Conspiracy to Traffic Cocaine and Resisting Officer W/O Violence

On or between the dates of March 30, 2010 and May 20, 2010, Delgado met with an undercover law enforcement agent and sold approximately 123.6 grams of illegal narcotics to the undercover officer. The illegal narcotics were always packaged to avoid K-9 detection.

On July 19, 2010, law enforcement learned Delgado was an intended receiver of a multi-kilo shipment of cocaine. Law enforcement located the vehicle that was towing a second vehicle where the narcotics were hidden. Correa was the driver of the vehicle which was towing the vehicle with the illegal narcotics. A traffic stop for no trailer license plate was conducted on the vehicle transporting the shipment of cocaine. Law enforcement K-9 was deployed around the vehicles, and the K-9 alerted to the presence of narcotics several times around both vehicles. Upon search of the vehicles, 32 grams of marijuana was located inside the cab of the vehicle being towed and 4.25 pounds of cocaine was located inside the engine of the same vehicle.

Delgado was traveling in a separate vehicle from the shipment of cocaine and was later taken into custody along with his girlfriend Wanda Brea, AKA Zahira Vieto-Rios. To resist arrest, Brea fled on foot from the vehicle and was located hiding in a local pharmacy. When she was taken into custody, Brea identified herself as Zahira Vieto-Rios, but later confessed Vieto-Rios was a falsified name she had used to obtain a Florida driver’s license.

Correa, Delgado, and Rios were all arrested for conspiracy to traffic cocaine. Correa and Delgado were also charged with trafficking cocaine over 400 grams. Rios was also arrested for resisting arrest w/out violence.

All three subjects are not in the United States legally. Agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been contacted and detainers are being placed upon the suspects, preventing them from being released from custody.

The case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.

Sheriff Paul May said, “These investigations are long, tedious and expensive. We could not have done this without the DEA and the FDLE. These people are major smugglers of cocaine into Okeechobee County. I hope our Courts tell them clearly and sternly that this will not be condoned or tolerated. These investigators did an outstanding job and I thank them very much.”