A woman who said she became scared when her boyfriend overdosed on drugs was arrested Tuesday afternoon after pulling several illegal items out of her bra.
Members of the Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team (UDEST) were called to a residence in the 16200 block of NE 13th Lane in Silver Springs in reference to an overdose and when they arrived, they spoke with 38-year-old Victoria Susan West, who admitted to using heroin the previous day. A UDEST agent asked West if she had anything on her that was illegal, and she reached into her bra and removed a large scale, a report says.
When asked if she had anything else on her, West reached back into her bra and pulled out $85 and:
- Three capped syringes that appeared to be unused;
- One clear container of a powdery substance;
- 1 Belbuca 750 mcg film; and
- 1 clear plastic bag containing a brown powder.
West told the agent that she became frightened after seeing her boyfriend overdose and she had grabbed the items from the bedroom and stuck them inside her bra. She asked the agent for a cigarette from her purse and gave him permission to search the bag for any illegal narcotics, the report says.
The UDEST agent opened the purse and found:
- Three glass-like containers, one holding a powdery substance;
- Two bundles of money, packaged in a way consistent with drug sales;
- One large glass-style container filled with a crystal-like substance; and
- Additional items of drug paraphernalia.
West admitted to owning the purse but said she wasn’t aware how the items got inside the handbag. When asked about the powdery substance that was inside her bra, she said she wasn’t sure how it got there – even though it was wrapped in money that she claimed was hers.
The powdery substance inside West’s bra and purse both field-tested positive for heroin and fentanyl content. The heroin located in her bra and purse each weighed .5 grams raw. The crystal-like substance found in her purse field-tested positive for methamphetamine and had a raw weight of 15.5 grams.
West was taken into custody and transported to the Marion County Jail, where she was charged with trafficking in methamphetamine, possession of heroin with intent to distribute, possession of Belbuca without a prescription and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was being held on $33,500 bond and is due in court on Oct. 29 at 9 a.m. to answer to the charges.
UDEST is an initiative of the North Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. It is comprised of local, state and federal law enforcement from the Ocala Police Department, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Drug Enforcement Administration and Department of Homeland Security.