Apr.14, 2010
AVON PARK Special agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Sebring field office arrested two men Wednesday – one from Avon Park – on charges of racketeering, money laundering, marijuana trafficking and structuring transactions to evade reporting.
Christopher Lee Pinnock, 36, of Avon Park, was arrested at the Miami International Airport after arriving from Jamaica, according to the FDLE. Carlton Wayne Smith, 43, of Rancho Dominguez, Calif., was already in federal custody and served with the arrest warrant.
The FDLE started its investigation in October 2008 after representatives from an Avon Park bank told investigators Pinnock had made cash deposits in Smith's account over a one-year period that totaled more than $700,000, according to a press release.
Investigators learned Pinnock and Smith were using bank accounts to funnel payments for shipments of marijuana, according to the FDLE.