Third person arrested in Lucky 777’s operation

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested a third man in connection with an illegal drug operation that used the U.S. Postal Service to ship opioids from California to Fleming Island and Orange Park.

Raymond Giuseppe Brewer, 44, of Jacksonville was arrested for trafficking between 28 grams and 150 kilograms of cocaine.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, a deputy pulled over Brewer’s vehicle near the Orange Park Mall for careless driving. After a dog alerted deputies to narcotics in the car, a search yielded a large white substance within a Dunkin’ cup filled with iced tea. Officers field-tested the substance, which tested positive for cocaine. Deputies also found two baggies filled with the controlled substance in the car’s center console and under the driver’s front seat.

In September, deputies arrested Jason Setzer, 46, of Orange Park and Alvin Mercado, 38, of Fleming Island, on drug trafficking charges. A search warrant in connection with the arrests yielded nearly 19 pounds of Fentanyl, which authorities said was enough to kill four million people.

Sheriff Michelle Cook said the investigation of the pair began after her agency received a tip that the defendants were receiving large shipments of illegal narcotics from California through the U.S. Postal Service and then paying for the shipments by mailing back to the Golden State large quantities of currency.

Brewer was later connected with the illicit operation.