A 58-year-old Sebring man is in the Highlands County Jail after being arrested on multiple drug trafficking charges.
On Wednesday, April 16, members of the Crime Suppression Unit served a search warrant at a home on Ellington Avenue in Sebring. Inside the home, they located Mahadeo Balkeran. They also located almost 290 grams (10.23 ounces) of cocaine, some of it packaged for resale, and 18 oxycodone pills.
The search warrant was the conclusion of a lengthy investigation into Balkeran. During the investigation, an additional 615 grams (22 ounces) of cocaine was seized through undercover operations.
The total amount of cocaine seized during the two operations was 1.99 pounds.
“One of the key missions of the Crime Suppression Unit is to stop illegal drugs before they make it to our streets. This is yet another successful operation where they did exactly that,” Sheriff Paul Blackman said. “We will continue to do everything we can to make sure the people who peddle this poison end up in prison, where they can’t hurt our communities.”
Balkeran was charged with four counts of trafficking in cocaine, sale of cocaine, three counts of sale of cocaine, distribution of cocaine, trafficking in oxycodone and several other charges.
Note: Not all arrests result in convictions. Everyone is considered innocent until proven guilty in court.
