A routine traffic stop near the Dover and Plant City area turned into a major narcotics bust early Sunday when Hillsborough County deputies say they found more than 200 grams of methamphetamine, distribution supplies, and nearly a thousand dollars in cash inside a vehicle. The stop happened at 12:19 a.m. at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and North Forbes Road, and it ended with two arrests and a woman telling deputies the drugs were hers.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, deputies conducting the stop searched the vehicle and recovered a large quantity of methamphetamine, a ledger, a glass bong, marijuana, bags used for drug distribution, two scales, and $918 in cash. Martha Gut, 58, of Bartow, was arrested following the search and told deputies that the narcotics belonged to her, per the sheriff's office post. She now faces several drug charges, including trafficking in methamphetamine over 200 grams and two counts of possession with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a convenience store.
A traffic stop turned into a major drug bust. On August 30, 2026, at 12:19 a.m., deputies conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and North Forbes Road.
— HCSO (@HCSOSheriff) August 31, 2026
During a search of the vehicle, deputies found a large quantity of methamphetamine, bags… pic.twitter.com/PDCn0uuBRN
Gut's home address in Bartow, the county seat of Polk County, sits roughly 25 miles southeast of the Plant City traffic stop location, raising the open question of whether the drugs were being transported into Hillsborough County from a neighboring jurisdiction. That detail has not been resolved in available records.
Second Arrest Tied to License and Paraphernalia Charges
A second person in the vehicle, 46-year-old Ronald Gauley, was also arrested. He was charged with driving with a license canceled, suspended, or revoked as a third offense, along with possession of drug paraphernalia, the sheriff's office said. Under Florida Statute § 322.34(2)(c), a third or subsequent offense of driving on a suspended license is a third-degree felony carrying up to five years in state prison and a $5,000 fine, escalating what in some cases is treated as a lesser infraction into felony-level exposure.
Gut's trafficking charge carries far steeper consequences. Florida Statute § 893.135(1)(f) classifies knowing possession of 200 grams or more of methamphetamine as a first-degree felony with a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in state prison and a mandatory $250,000 fine, regardless of whether intent to sell is proven. The additional charge of possession with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a convenience store is also significant procedurally, since Florida Statute § 893.13 bars courts from suspending, deferring, or granting probation on a conviction under that subsection.
Part of a Busy Week for Hillsborough Narcotics Enforcement
The MLK Boulevard and Forbes Road intersection sits in rural eastern Hillsborough County along State Road 574, a corridor that links East Tampa, Dover, Seffner, and Plant City near Interstate 4. It is the third major traffic-stop narcotics seizure reported in the area within days. Two days earlier, on August 28, deputies conducting a stop in nearby Plant City uncovered 16.2 pounds of cocaine, a pound of methamphetamine, machine gun conversion switches, and $79,510 in cash, as Hoodline previously reported.
The following day, deputies arrested two people during an early morning traffic stop on North 50th Street in East Tampa after seizing a sawed-off shotgun and 67 grams of methamphetamine, according to Hoodline's earlier coverage of that stop. Earlier in the month, on August 11, the sheriff's office announced the dismantling of a regional retail theft network that also turned up 39 grams of methamphetamine, 60 grams of cocaine, firearms, and $300,000 in stolen goods, illustrating how narcotics seizures in the county frequently overlap with broader property crime investigations.
A Pattern Stretching Back Years
Large-scale methamphetamine seizures during Hillsborough traffic stops are not new. In April 2024, deputies arrested two people during a late-night stop on Waters Avenue after finding over 200 grams of methamphetamine, 50 grams of fentanyl, and $1,800 in cash — a case in which then-Sheriff Chad Chronister emphasized the agency's zero-tolerance approach to high-volume trafficking. And in February, a 35-year-old Hillsborough County resident was sentenced to 18 years in Florida State Prison following an undercover investigation that identified him as a major distributor of methamphetamine and fentanyl in Tampa.
The sheriff's office, which describes its mission as protecting and defending the community while preserving the rights and dignity of all, asked anyone with information to call 813-247-8200. As with any criminal case, the charges against Gut and Gauley remain allegations at this stage, and both are entitled to have the case tested in court.
