A routine check on a wanted person outside a Hillsborough County apartment complex turned into a sprawling drug and weapons case this week, after deputies say they caught 28-year-old Frankie Ramos leaving his home with narcotics in his backpack. What followed was a search warrant, a haul of drugs and firearms, and charges involving narcotics and firearms.
Wanted-Person Call Leads to Backpack Search
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office reported in updates on its verified Instagram and X accounts that deputies responded on Friday to the 1800 block of Princeton Lakes Drive in reference to a wanted person. The agency said Ramos was observed leaving his apartment, and that narcotics were found during a search of his backpack. That discovery, the agency said, gave investigators grounds to pursue a warrant for his home.
Deputies arrested Ramos the same day, the agency said. Investigators obtained a search warrant for his residence, and the agency's account says deputies recovered a large amount of narcotics and several firearms once inside.
The arrest comes amid a rise in recorded drug arrests in Hillsborough County. Florida Department of Health data show 10,502 drug-arrest events in the county in 2025, a rate of 666.5 per 100,000 residents, compared with 3,947 events in 2020. The statewide rate in 2025 was 383.1 per 100,000. The figures count arrest events, not necessarily unique people, and do not indicate the outcome of any case.
Narcotics and Firearms Charges
The sheriff's office said Ramos faces narcotics and firearms charges.
Florida’s drug statute covers selling, manufacturing or delivering controlled substances, as well as possessing them with intent to sell, manufacture or deliver; the penalties vary with the substance and conduct charged. The sheriff’s office summary described here does not specify the substances, quantities or individual counts, so it does not establish which statutory provisions prosecutors may rely on. Florida Statute 893.13 sets out those prohibited acts and penalties.
The case also includes narcotics-related charges.
Firearms Charges Round Out the Case
Ramos also faces firearms charges.
As with any arrest, the charges reflect accusations rather than a determination of guilt.
