Couple Charged In Opioid Ring Described As 'Typical Young Family'
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
DAVIE (CBSMiami) – A man and woman taken into federal custody during a raid on a $850,000 home in the upscale Laurel Oaks community of Davie made their first appearance before a judge on Thursday.
Anthony Gomes and Elizabeth Ton were formally charged with multiple counts of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance that could cause serious injury or bodily harm.
"They had a little girl. They were like a typical young family - always playing with the girl, lots of fun. They were young. I didn't think anything of them," said neighbor Jose Corzo.
CBS4's Ted Scouten saw someone at the home who did not want to comment. Minutes later that same man, two women and a young girl left. One of the women flipped off Scouten on the way. We also saw the same man, along with two women in court, watching the proceedings.
Gomes and Ton were indicted by a North Dakota Grand Jury.
Wednesday's raid of their home was part of an investigation into a long-running, international drug ring accused of bringing the dangerous and deadly drug Fentanyl into the United States from 2013 to 2016. Agents removed a Maserati, a 4-wheeler and boxes of documents from the property.
Gomes and Ton are due back in federal court in Fort Lauderdale next Tuesday for a detention hearing. At that time, they will likely be ordered back to North Dakota to stand trail.
According to the federal indictment, "This conspiracy moved more than 400 grams of a mixture and substance containing Fentanyl."
The indictment alleges four deaths and five cases of serious bodily injury are apparently connected to the group's illegal activities.
People from the U.S., Canada, and China are suspected of being involved in the operation. The indictment does not specifically spell out the role of Gomes and Ton in the operation, other than taking part in the conspiracy to distribute Fentanyl.
The drug Fentanyl is so powerful that even inhaling or touching the drug can kill you. Investigators believe that's possibly what happened to 10-year-old Alton Banks in Miami earlier this year.
