What started as a disturbance call at a Zolfo Springs mobile-home lot ended with Hardee County deputies hauling away a 42-foot RV, bagging suspected meth, cocaine and marijuana, and arresting a local woman, according to sheriff's officials. The call quickly shifted from a neighbor trouble type situation into a full-on narcotics investigation, and investigators say the evidence pulled from the lot has now been handed over to prosecutors for state charges.
According to the Hardee County Sheriff's Office, deputies served a warrant at 976 Sabal Palm Drive, Lot 970 and found roughly 45.7 grams of suspected methamphetamine, about 5.1 grams of suspected cocaine and approximately 17 grams of suspected marijuana, along with drug paraphernalia and multiple firearms. The woman arrested, identified as Autumn R. Scott, faces charges that include trafficking in methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a school, possession of cocaine, possession of tramadol without a prescription and possession of drug paraphernalia. The agency also reported that a 2025 Keystone Sprinter RV, about 42 feet long and valued at roughly $60,000, was seized and is being handled under state forfeiture rules.
What deputies say they found
Photos in the sheriff's Facebook post show bagged packages and small containers that deputies described as suspected narcotics, plus several handguns taken from the scene. Authorities said the amounts recovered were enough to support trafficking charges and noted that smaller, additional quantities of methamphetamine were also found during the search. The post did not list the makes or models of the firearms or say whether any children were present at the lot during the raid.
Why the RV was seized
Officials said the RV was seized under the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act, which allows agencies to take property that is used in or acquired through felony drug activity, per Florida Statutes. Under that law, vehicles and other personal property are treated as contraband when they are used as an instrumentality in drug crimes, and there is a separate civil process that lets owners and lienholders challenge the seizure. The agency has to file a complaint in circuit court, and anyone with a claim to the property can ask to be heard under state rules.
Charges and penalties
Trafficking in methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a school carries enhanced penalties under Florida law, and those distance-based rules can upgrade otherwise lesser drug counts into more serious felonies, according to FindLaw and Florida Statute 893.13. The state will weigh the seized evidence and determine the exact charges to file in court. If convicted, defendants face penalties that vary based on the drug involved, the amount seized and whether the offense happened in a protected zone.
Sheriff's statement
“This seizure and the charges filed underscore our unwavering commitment to public safety and to holding those who traffic dangerous drugs and possess illegal weapons accountable,” Sheriff Vent Crawford wrote in the department's post, adding that the investigation remains active. The agency shared photos and a short narrative of the operation on its Facebook page and said deputies launched the probe after responding to a disturbance call at the property. Officials did not immediately release court dates or additional booking details.
Local context
Hardee County's seizure is one of several recent operations across the region aimed at disrupting small-scale meth and fentanyl distribution. Nearby law enforcement agencies have reported similar hauls in recent weeks, including a mid-April search in Fort Pierce that turned up meth, cocaine and fentanyl, as detailed by WQCS, and an April raid in Citrus County that resulted in multiple fentanyl trafficking arrests, covered by FOX 13 Tampa Bay. Coverage of a recent Hardee County pot bust from January 2025 shows that narcotics enforcement has been an ongoing focus in the area.
The sheriff's post states that Scott was taken into custody and charged at the scene, and the agency said it will provide additional updates as prosecutors file formal charges. For now, the investigation remains active and that 42-foot RV is not going anywhere without a judge's say-so.
