When people think of Florida law enforcement, the first things that come to mind are the FDLE, the Governor’s office, or the State Attorney General. But another state agency that is playing a huge part in dealing with criminals in the state is the Florida Dept of Agriculture and Consumer Services. (FDACS).
The Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement has two bureaus: the Bureau of Uniform Services and the Bureau of Investigative Services.
These 2 units cover illegal drugs, scams and thefts including criminal investigations relating to any matter over which the department has jurisdiction, protects consumers from unfair and deceptive trade practices, protects Florida’s agriculture industry from theft and other crimes, and safeguards the integrity of Florida’s food and other consumer products.
On the 19 highways entering and leaving Florida, the agency operates more than 20 agricultural interdiction stations, where officers conduct vehicle inspections 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to protect Florida’s food supply and prevent the introduction and spread of agricultural pests and diseases.
On the food side, officers are on the lookout for unsafe or unwholesome food that could make people sick, and plant and animal pests and diseases that could harm the state’s $120 billion agriculture industry.
The Bureau of Investigative Services enforces laws, including telemarketing operations, charities, motor vehicle repair shops, pawnshops, and moving and storage companies. The bureau is tasked with protecting consumers from unfair and deceptive trade practices, protecting Florida’s agriculture industry from theft, other crimes, and other consumer products. The bureau is divided into two distinct sections: Criminal Investigative Services and Regulatory Investigative Services.
The Bureau of Investigative Services investigates crimes involving agriculture, including those involving farms, farm equipment, pesticides, fertilizers, livestock, poultry, horticulture, aquaculture, and citrus products, and violations occurring on property owned or operated by the FDACS.
The Agriculture Department has 204 employees who deal with regulatory and law enforcement programs by inspecting highway shipments of agricultural, horticultural, aquaculture and livestock commodities.
DRUGS
The federal government partners with FDACS in the detection, dismantling and eradication of domestically grown marijuana.
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson says this has been going on for over 20 years and has resulted in the detection of over 34,000 illegal grow sites, eliminating more than 2.7 million marijuana plants valued in excess of $3.2 billion, and the arrest of over 17,000 cultivators in Florida.
“These agencies are the first line of defense at our state’s borders,” said Simpson.
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