Heroin, crack seized in undercover buys from alleged dealers throughout city

Myrtle Beach police seized 10 grams of heroin, nearly 7 grams of crack cocaine, ecstasy and narcotic pain relievers in recent undercover operations that landed five accused heroin dealers in jail.

Agents began an investigation into drug sales from a room at the Sea Mist Resort last month, using a confidential informant equipped with hidden recording devices and “official police funds,” according to an incident report. The informant bought a tenth-of-a-gram of crack cocaine and less than one gram of heroin on that first visit, police say.

The drug agents requested warrants and executed a search of the room days later seizing 8.4 grams of heroin, 7.3 grams of crack cocaine, a strip of suboxone (a pain reliever), one ecstasy pill and a 9-milimeter handgun.

None of the room’s occupants claimed possession of the gun. They were all charged with possessing a weapon in a violent crime.

Paraphernalia collected from the room included razor blades tainted with drug residue, rubber bands, needles, 12 rounds of ammunition, silver tablespoons with residue, glass pipes with residue, small plastic bags, straws and baby spoons, scales and more than $3,500 in cash, according to the report.

April Nicole Tabaka, 29, of Myrtle Beach and Quintin Kimnard Taylor, 23, of Florence were each charged with distributing heroin, possession with the means to distribute crack cocaine, trafficking heroin, possession of ecstasy, possession of suboxone and the weapon violation.

Jessica Lynn Lilly, 35, of Myrtle Beach was charged with possessing crack, distributing heroin, possessing ecstasy, possessing suboxone, possessing with the means to distribute crack, trafficking heroin and the weapon violation.

Jennifer Mattcia Porter, 34, of Surfside Beach and Myshaun Jarodd Godbolt, 24, of Myrtle Beach were each charged with possessing ecstasy, possessing suboxone, possessing with the means to distribute crack, trafficking heroin and the gun charge.

Tabaka was also the alleged seller in an undercover buy at 1905 S. Ocean Blvd., where agents say they sent a confidential informant in to purchase .4 grams of heroin.

The undercover buys began last month and have taken place at three locations throughout the city.

Agents also looked into drug sales at 1200 Yaupon Drive and used a confidential informant to buy .4 grams of heroin and .3 grams of crack cocaine. Agents later requested a warrant for the seller’s arrest, but no arrest had been made in the case as of Wednesday.

Officers also seized 19.5 grams of heroin and 23.5 grams of cocaine in a search of a room at the Sea Crest Oceanfront Resort after first noticing the drugs when responding to a domestic violence call on Valentine’s Day. That seizure was not the result of an undercover operation.

Officers and drug agents throughout the county continue to fight the war on opioids, like heroin and fentanyl, that have led to a rising increase in overdoses over the past few years. Last week, police agencies across the county trained to use the overdose-reversal drug Narcan, which up until recently was only being administered by medics and certified fire-rescue personnel.

Myrtle Beach police responded to seven overdose calls in which Narcan was used to revive users in the month of February, a decrease from the 17 overdoses noted in police reports in January.

This story was originally published March 29, 2017 at 5:39 PM with the headline "Heroin, crack seized in undercover buys from alleged dealers throughout city."