A record-breaking drug bust in Florida has turned up an unexpected name and face on bundles of heroin: President Donald Trump.
Trump’s likeness appeared on some of the 5,550 heroin packages displayed by authorities on Friday in what’s believed to be Hernando County’s largest heroin bust ever. But Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi was not amused by the Trump-branded drug, and she spoke directly to the alleged drug dealer during a news conference on the seizure of heroin, which had a street value of up to $100,000.
“So all I want to say to this drug dealer is, ‘Big mistake by putting the president’s picture on this.’ Big mistake,” Bondi said. “Because he is going to be our most fierce advocate in taking this junk off of our streets. Can you believe this? Big mistake. And I’m going to make sure he gets one of these packages when the case is all over to put in the Oval Office to remind him of all the good he’s doing.”
It’s unclear exactly why the drugs were marketed with Trump’s name and likeness in blue print, but drug dealers sometime give their products “brand names” to differentiate from competitors on the market. Other packages of the drugs seized in January bore the name of notorious Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
Bondi said the bust potentially saved the lives more than 5,000 people, would-be first-time users of heroin who could be become addicted to the narcotic instantly. Bondi told reporters she spoke to Trump from the White House last week and discussed heroin in addition to mourning the death of a Navy SEAL with the president. Bondi joked that the bust–and the president’s image on some of the drugs–could impact his plans to build a border wall.
“Big mistake putting his face on that, I think that wall might be built a little faster now,” Bondi said. “That’s just me saying that now.”
Bondi, who referred to the displayed drugs as “trash” multiple times, said the bust comes as Florida continues its fight against heroin in Hernando County.
“This is hitting high schools now,” Bondi said. “This is hitting everywhere … This has become mainstream sadly and we’re going to do everything we can to fight it.”
Bondi and Trump, as the Washington Post notes, saw themselves in the center of a controversy last year after reports surfaced that Trump failed to disclose an improper $25,000 contribution to a political group connected to Bondi, who was then considering whether to launch a fraud investigation against Trump University. The donation by the Donald J. Trump Foundation in 2013 violated federal rules that bar charities from donating to political candidates, the newspaper reported in September.
Trump also did not disclose the gift to the Internal Revenue Service, but has brushed off questions about the donation, saying: “I’ve just known Pam Bondi for years. I have a lot of respect for her. Never spoke to her about that at all. And just have a lot of respect for her as a person. And she has done an amazing job as the attorney general of Florida. She is very popular.”
Meanwhile, Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis said Kelvin Scott Johnson, 46, of Spring Hill, Fla., has been charged with heroin trafficking, cocaine possession and driving with a suspended license in connection to the drug bust. Johnson, who has a criminal record dating back to 1989, was being held Friday on $75,000 bond and faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
Nienhius stressed just how important the bust was to potentially keeping first-time users from heroin, saying that if only 1 percent of the entire stash displayed Friday went to first-time users, the drugs could create 55 new addicts.
“This is a big bust,” he told reporters.
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