The state of Florida is a prime area for international drug trafficking and money laundering organizations, as well as a principal thoroughfare for cocaine and heroin transiting to the northeastern United States and Canada. Florida has over 8,000 miles of coastline that provide virtually unlimited access for drug trafficking organizations to use maritime means to smuggle drugs. The very short distance between Florida and the Bahamas also serves as a smuggling corridor along the southeast coastline of the state. Also, Florida's many airports and maritime ports provide traffickers with a means to smuggle drugs through the use of couriers and cargo facilities. The opportunities to earn money the illegal way are boundless.
If you have been tempted by all of these opportunities to make money through the sale and/or smuggling of drugs in Florida, there are criminal defense attorneys available to help you through the nightmarish ordeal of being arrested for drug trafficking. South Florida, with its unique mix of nationalities and ties to Central and South America, is a primary domestic command and control center for Colombian narcotics traffickers and money laundering organizations. It can be very easy to get sucked into this underworld of easy money and fast living. We all know that the war against drugs is not being won in the United States, and the temptation to make money illegally exists, especially in areas such as Florida, so close to ports of entry.
If you have made the life-altering mistake of trafficking drugs in the Florida area, there are some things you need to know immediately. Whether you have been arrested for state or federal drug charges, these laws provide for rigorous prosecution of drug trafficking, possession and other drug-related offenses.
In fact, the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000 allows assets to be seized or forfeited for drug offenses. The Patriot Act has also had a huge effect on the court system's tolerance for arresting procedures that have previously not been permitted.
There is no way around the fact that if you are arrested for a drug-related charge in the state of Florida, you need experienced, tough legal help. Without it, you will surely be convicted and sentenced to prison time. Why take that risk? Your life does not have to be over.
A good criminal legal team will look at the following issues related to your arrest for a drug offense in Florida:
Is the evidence sufficient enough to convict you?
Was your contact with law enforcement legal? Did they have a right to search you or pull you over in your car?
Did the police have probable cause?
Where were the drugs found?
Who owns the property where the drugs were found?
Was a prescription drug involved with your arrest?
Was there police entrapment?
If you confessed, was the confession valid?
Were you rights read to you correctly and timely?
Only a highly trained and knowledgeable criminal defense lawyer can help you fight drug-related charges in Florida. The Umansky Law Firm, with offices in Orlando and Winter Park, has experience representing defendants on all types of drug charges in Florida.
Our clients have lived in the following areas: Seminole, Brevard, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Lake and Hillsborough counties and in the communities of Longwood, Sanford, Kissimmee, Melbourne, Windermere, Ocoee, Oviedo, Celebration and Altamonte Springs.
