PALM COAST, Fla. – Two brothers from Palm Coast are headed to prison after a yearlong, multi-agency investigation into cocaine trafficking led by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly announced the results of the investigation Friday during a news conference. Behind him were Rolex watches, gold jewelry, designer shoes and eight vehicles seized during what authorities called “Operation Loose Lips.”
Claude Harris, 38, who used the nickname “Lips,” was sentenced Oct. 28 to 14.5 years in prison after pleading no contest to charges of cocaine trafficking and money laundering. His brother, John Harris, 36, pleaded no contest to selling or possessing cocaine and received a 3.5-year prison sentence.
Search warrants carried out at locations across Palm Coast from June 5 through June 10 uncovered several unusual methods of concealing drugs and other evidence.
“They have some very interesting hiding places like inside a vacuum cleaner and an air fryer,” Staly said.
Operation Loose Lips resulted in the seizure of nearly 1.5 kilograms of cocaine, estimated to be worth $150,000 on the street. Authorities also confiscated $100,969 in cash, five firearms, eight vehicles, hundreds of designer handbags, shoes and clothing valued at more than $100,000, and dozens of pieces of jewelry. All of the seized assets were forfeited.
Staly said the amount of property and cash seized was especially notable because Claude Harris reported earning only $60,000 annually as a dump truck driver.
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The investigation also resulted in the arrest of Aleah Fagan, 31, Harris’s girlfriend. Fagan, a nurse at Halifax Health in Daytona Beach, was accused of operating a stash house for the organization.
During a June 10 search at 20 Angela Drive, detectives found a vial of fentanyl citrate and two vials of morphine. They also recovered plastic bags and a digital scale coated with a white, powdery substance that tested positive for cocaine.
Investigators are examining whether Fagan used her job at Halifax Health to divert the medications. The Volusia Bureau of Investigation is helping with that inquiry.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit and the FBI led the investigation. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office and the Volusia Sheriff’s Office also assisted.
The seized vehicles, jewelry and designer merchandise will be offered at a public auction through GovDeals.com. Staly joked that buyers could “own a piece of Flagler County drug history.”
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