There’s an old saying that the Lord works in mysterious ways. Apparently, so does the Cutthroat Killers gang — though their chosen method involved stashing fentanyl, crack cocaine, and firearms in a Holly Hill, Florida church property while Sunday services presumably carried on nearby. It’s the kind of story that sounds made up until you read the sheriff’s quotes, at which point it sounds exactly as Florida as you’d expect.
A major multi-agency law enforcement operation on June 30, 2026, targeted an alleged drug trafficking organization believed to be responsible for multiple shootings and overdose deaths across Volusia County. The centerpiece of the operation was a raid on the property of Greater Harvest Ministries in Holly Hill — not exactly the congregation’s finest morning, but a very good one for law enforcement. SWAT teams arrived shortly after 5 a.m., which is either very early or very late depending on your lifestyle choices.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said investigators spent the past year conducting surveillance and using a federal wiretap as part of the investigation, and believe drugs and firearms were being stored at a church-owned home where the pastor’s son was living. The pastor, for her part, told reporters she had no idea what was going on next door. Sheriff Chitwood responded with characteristic restraint: “You have one building dedicated to quote-unquote ‘saving souls’ and the other building dedicated to destroying souls.” Hard to argue with that framing.
The investigation began in 2025 following a surge in overdose deaths spanning New Smyrna Beach, Holly Hill, Edgewater, and Orange City. What started as parallel investigations by the Volusia Sheriff’s Office and Daytona Beach Police Department eventually merged — because, as tends to happen in Florida, the suspect list overlapped considerably.
Operation Holy Rollers: A Year in the Making
The operation, dubbed “Operation Holy Rollers,” stemmed from a long-term narcotics investigation and included the execution of 10 search warrants and more than 50 arrest warrants throughout Holly Hill, Daytona Beach, and Ormond Beach. The name alone deserves some credit — whoever in law enforcement coined that one had a good day at the office.
The sheriff’s office conducted the operation alongside the Daytona Beach Police Department’s “Operation Ice Breakers II,” with additional support from the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, FDLE, multiple narcotics task forces, an overdose task force, and SWAT teams drawn from Volusia, Flagler, Seminole, and Brevard county sheriff’s offices. When you need SWAT from four different counties, you’re not dealing with a minor problem.
What They Found
The operation yielded significant seizures of fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, MDMA, cannabis products, drug manufacturing equipment, firearms including altered weapons with removed serial numbers, and cash. In other words, a fairly comprehensive menu of bad decisions all concentrated in one location.
Several high-level offenders were arrested on trafficking and armed trafficking charges, with many held on no-bond status given the severity of the offenses
Where Things Stand Now
As of July 1, 45 people have been arrested, with law enforcement still searching for about a dozen others. Charges and names are expected to be released in the coming days as investigators continue working through the evidence. The Daytona Beach Police Department’s contribution traces back to an earlier phase of this same investigation, meaning this takedown has been a long time coming for the agencies involved.
Sheriff Chitwood summed up the morning simply: “I think today Volusia County is going to be a little bit safer because of the combined efforts of all of our law enforcement agencies.” Given what was pulled out of that property, that assessment seems about right.