Six Flagler County residents, including a father and two sons, were among nine people sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a cross-country drug-distribution operation that stretched from Florida to California, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said at a press conference in May 2023 that it was the largest drug-trafficking investigation in the history of his department. The investigation was called Operation Ice Man.

Each person either pleaded guilty or was found guilty by a jury for their part in the conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and related crimes, according to a release from U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida.

Alfred L. Shavers, 50, was sentenced to 16 years in federal prison for cocaine and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was found guilty at trial.

His son, Alfred L. Shavers Jr., 26, was sentenced to five years after pleading guilty to a charge involving 50 grams of methamphetamine.

His other son, Camarie Shavers, 24, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to a charge involving 500 grams of cocaine.

The Shavers were Bunnell residents, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Jimmy Lee Bizzell, 53, of Bunnell, pleaded guilty to a charge involving 500 grams of methamphetamine and was sentenced to six years in prison.

Zara Mascarella, 30, of Palm Coast, pleaded guilty to charges involving 500 grams of methamphetamine and 500 grams of cocaine and was sentenced to five years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Tyrone Johns, 56, of Palm Coast, was found guilty after a jury trial of a charge involving 500 grams of methamphetamine and two counts involving 50 grams of cocaine and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Also sentenced in the case was Luis Miguel Hernandez, 36, Saul Sandoval, 41, both of Phoenix, and Wendell Ferreira, 42, of Berlin, Connecticut.

Hernandez was sentenced to nine years and one month for a charge involving 500 grams of methamphetamine and five kilograms of cocaine. Sandoval was sentenced to 10 years for a charge involving 500 grams of methamphetamine and Ferreira was sentenced to two years and nine months for a charge involving 500 grams of methamphetamine and five kilograms of cocaine.

The sentencings took place starting Dec. 11 when Shavers Jr. was sentenced and concluded with Jones’ sentencing Monday.

U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton pronounced the sentences.

The group used commercial trucks to ship methamphetamine and cocaine from Mexico across the United States to Central Florida, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Bizzell and Ferreira drove the trucks transporting the drugs from California and Arizona to Florida, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Law enforcement officers executed searches on Oct. 31, 2022, at six places in Palm Coast, Bunnell and Daytona Beach, seizing 44.54 kilograms of methamphetamine and 2.72 kilograms of cocaine.

They also seized nine guns and hundreds of bullets from Alfred Shaver’s residence.

Jones, Mascarella, Alfred Shavers, Alfred Shavers Jr. and Camarie Shavers were identified as drug traffickers in Central Florida, the U.S. Attorneys’ Office stated.

Sandoval and Hernandez had brokered deals with co-conspirators in Mexico who were sending drugs across the border for the two to sell.

Sandoval and Hernandez distributed more than 300 kilograms of drugs that were shipped to Central Florida since 2021, investigators believe, the release stated.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office, the Daytona Beach Police Department and the DeLand Police Department investigated the case.

Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Sartoian and Matthew Del Mastro prosecuted the case.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Bunnell, Palm Coast residents sentenced in drug-trafficking group