2 men indicted following methamphetamine seizure in Polk County

TAMPA, Fla. – Two Poinciana men were indicted Tuesday on drug charges related to their possession of methamphetamine. The indictment resulted from an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

According to the indictment, Scott Eargood, 21, and Santos Zamora-Escobar, 27, conspired with others to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine and 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. They also knowingly and intentionally, while aiding and abetting each other, possessed with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine and 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine.

Court documents state that on the evening of May 2, Polk County deputies initiated a traffic stop on Eargood's Jeep Cherokee on Highway 98 West in Polk County. Eargood was the driver of the vehicle, and Zamora-Escobar was the passenger. Deputies searched the vehicle and found $3,494 and 229 grams of methamphetamine.

Based on information gleaned from the traffic stop, law enforcement officers searched a residence on Platte Lane in Poinciana. Inside the residence, officers found more than 110 pounds of methamphetamine valued at $2.2 million.

Eargood rented the Poinciana house four months earlier at Zamora-Escobar's direction. The house was rented for the purpose of facilitating methamphetamine trafficking in Polk County. It is further alleged that Zamora-Escobar, Eargood and others stored large quantities of methamphetamine at the residence for further distribution.

On May 3, as part of the ongoing investigation, HSI special agents and Polk County detectives executed a search warrant at a mobile home on East Oak Island Road. Law enforcement officers seized four ounces of methamphetamine, a long rifle, an AK-47-type rifle and three handguns from the mobile home. Investigators also executed a search warrant at an apartment on 3rd Street SE in Winter Haven. Numerous wire transfer documents were seized from that location.

If convicted, the defendants each face 10 years to life in prison.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

Organized crime drug enforcement task forces identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, as well as those primarily responsible for the nation's illegal drug supply.