NEWS RELEASE 19-165 - SEPTEMBER 27, 2019
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Texas teenager after he was found in possession of five kilograms of heroin.
The investigation began when deputies received information that Diego Ricardi, DOB 01/07/02, was possibly traveling to Sarasota County with a large quantity of heroin. On Monday, Tactical Unit deputies observed Ricardi, who was carrying a blue backpack, board a SCAT bus in Sarasota. Deputies contacted Ricardi when got off the bus. A consensual search of the backpack led deputies to recover four sealed bundles of heroin weighing more than 11 pounds along with $3,000 in cash.
Ricardi, of Brownsville, Texas, is charged with Trafficking in Heroin More than 4 Grams. He remains in custody today at the Sarasota County Jail on $250,000 bond. The investigation was conducted with support from the Sarasota Police Department.