Brooksville woman faces trafficking charges after narcotics raid, deputies say

A Gordon Loop home in Brooksville sat under months of undercover narcotics work before detectives moved in on May 23, and Hernando County investigators say the raid exposed a house used for trafficking-level drug sales.

The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office Vice and Narcotics Unit said detectives had made multiple undercover purchases at the residence during the investigation and identified Lena Kontos, 47, as the person living there and allegedly selling methamphetamine and fentanyl. Detectives said that surveillance and the buys gave them probable cause for the search warrant, and when they entered the home Kontos allegedly tried to hide items inside before being detained without incident.

What detectives say they found was substantial: about 61.6 grams of methamphetamine, 9.6 grams of fentanyl, one Dilaudid pill weighing about 0.1 grams, Suboxone strips, and items commonly used for packaging and drug sales. Investigators said Kontos admitted ownership of the narcotics found in the house. She was booked into the Hernando County Detention Center, at 16425 Spring Hill Drive in Brooksville, on charges that included trafficking in fentanyl, three counts of trafficking in methamphetamine, two counts of sale of a controlled substance, two counts of possession with intent to sell, two counts of possession of a controlled substance, three counts of possession of a structure for the sale or trafficking of a controlled substance, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, and three counts of possession of drug paraphernalia.

The case underscores how deputies are trying to dismantle homes they say function as repeat distribution points, not just arrest people for possession after the fact. Hernando investigators have leaned on undercover buys and search warrants in other recent narcotics cases as well, including a March Brooksville investigation and an April Spring Hill case that also led to trafficking charges after undercover work helped establish probable cause.

Florida law treats the amounts seized in the Kontos case as trafficking quantities. Trafficking in fentanyl starts at 4 grams, and the 9.6 grams detectives reported falls in the 4-to-14-gram bracket that carries a mandatory minimum prison term under state law. Trafficking in methamphetamine begins at 14 grams, and the 61.6 grams recovered in Brooksville was far above that threshold. With the case still tied to a months-long investigation and a home on Gordon Loop, deputies are signaling that larger residential drug operations remain a priority in Hernando County.