7.14.26 Sheriff Gualtieri Announces Large Narcotics Investigation "Operation Hall of Fame"

On July 14, 2026, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri and FDLE Tampa Bay Regional Operations Center Special Agent in Charge, Mark Dubina, held a press conference to discuss a large narcotics investigation called “Operation Hall of Fame.”   After several years of investigating a local drug trafficker, detectives learned that cocaine was being transported via truck tractors from El Paso Texas to Pinellas County. Detectives conducted surveillance of one of the transports on July 10, 2026, which led to the arrest of nine suspects and 60 kilograms of cocaine seized. Sheriff Gualtieri stated, “This is the largest drug seizure from a single Pinellas County drug trafficker that I know of in the past 40 plus years. The amount of Cocaine that Daniel Pinales was putting on the streets of Pinellas County is just simply astronomical.” Read the full press release at https://www.pinellassheriff.gov/Contents/ContentItems/4hpc2g18cpa2kv5vp8rjk7whnv