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Drug Bust Proves Fruitful For Food Bank

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By VALERIE KALFRIN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 7, 2007

Photo Gallery: Lemon-Pepper Overload

TAMPA - In a twist on making lemonade when life supplies lemons, police today donated a truckload of lemons and other produce seized during a drug bust to a local food bank.

Shortly after 2 p.m., officers backed a tractor-trailer from Brownsville, Texas, to a distribution warehouse for America's Second Harvest of Tampa Bay on East Adamo Drive. Inside the 53-foot trailer were cardboard boxes of lemons and limes, as well as plastic crates of habaneros, bell peppers, tomatillos and rutabagas.

"This is a real blessing today," said Marc Sutherland, resource development director for the food bank, which distributes food to about 300 organizations including Metropolitan Ministries and the Salvation Army.

"We're always in dire need of fresh produce and meat," Sutherland said. "We can find a home for just about everything."

The produce is the oddest seizure that narcotics detectives can remember.

An investigation led detectives to Interstate 75 about 5:45 p.m. Thursday, where they pulled over the truck owned by Daniel Ramirez of Brownsville, records show.

Police found cocaine in the truck and charged Ramirez, 26, and the driver, Hector Fernandez, 52, of San Benito, Texas, with trafficking in more than 400 grams of cocaine, a felony. Both men were held without bail at Orient Road Jail today. The trailer of produce would have been destroyed because it had no evidentiary value, but that seemed like a waste, police said. They spoke to the Florida Department of Agriculture, persuaded Ramirez to turn over the cargo and contacted the food bank.

"The officers realized we had a short window of time before everything went bad," said Cpl. Jared Douds, a department spokesman. "It was a no-brainer what the right thing to do was."

The semi had engine trouble on its trip from the police impound lot to the food bank, but the food arrived in good shape. Officers checked through each box and crate to ensure there were no drugs hidden among the produce.

"If something good can come out of this enterprise, that's as good as it's gonna get," narcotics Capt. Hugh Miller said.

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800 or vkalfrin@tampatrib.com.

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