WEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputy has bonded out of jail, hours after he was arrested for allegedly possessing, selling and trafficking drugs.
7News cameras captured former MDSO Deputy Francisco Melo as he bolted out of jail on Friday night.
“Why did you sell those drugs?” said the reporter.
But Melo did not answer. Instead, he began running away from our cameras.
Earlier in the day, he appeared in bond court.
“Mr. Melo, you were arrested for trafficking an ecstasy or MDMA,” she said.
According to the arrest warrant, former MDSO Deputy Francisco Melo was dealing MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy or molly.
MDSO officials said they used a confidential informant to go undercover and successfully purchase pills from Melo.
That informant also learned that Melo was set to sail on a Royal Caribbean Groove Cruise that was going to host an electronic dance festival where, they said, he planned to smuggle and sell pills packaged in Skittles packets.
Detectives arrested Melo at PortMiami as he was getting ready to board the ship.
Officials searched his bag, and according to the arrest affidavit, found 60 pills that matched the ones the informant had bought in December.
“So, it’s 60 MDMA pills, weighing approximately 35 grams, so there’s probable cause,” said Glazer.
Once arrested, Melo refused to be interviewed by detectives.
Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz released the following statement shortly after Melo’s arrest:
“Narcotics don’t just harm those who use them, they devastate families, and fuel crime. The actions of this individual are a betrayal of the public trust and of all the deputies who work tirelessly to protect our community.”
Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz
MDSO officials said Melo had been with the sheriff’s department for the past three years.
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