Key West drug raid uncovers cocaine, LSD, ecstasy and cash

A Key West raid on Laird Street ended with two arrests and a haul of drugs that police said went far beyond simple possession. Investigators recovered 16 grams of cocaine, 103 doses of LSD, ecstasy pills, more than 62 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, more than a gram of ketamine, 132 grams of marijuana, 10 marijuana plants growing under ultraviolet lights and $4,669 in suspected drug proceeds.

The search came after a tip about drug activity at the home and brought together the Key West Police Department Special Investigations Unit, Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Law enforcement said the volume and variety of narcotics pointed to active distribution, not an isolated use case, and the case remains open as detectives continue to examine whether more people or properties were involved.

Police arrested Philip Demena III, 43, and Erin Henry, 36, and booked both into the Monroe County Detention Center. The charges include possession of cocaine with intent to sell within 1,000 feet of a place of worship, four counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance, trafficking in LSD, production of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The raid adds to a string of narcotics enforcement actions that Key West police have recently publicized across the city. On May 22, officers executed a search warrant at George Allen Apartments and arrested Ramon Noa, 56, and Yanielys Masa Santana, 41, after finding 23.6 grams of powder cocaine, digital scales with cocaine residue, plastic baggies and cutting agents tied to drug sales. That same day, a separate warrant on Truman Avenue followed multiple complaints about drug activity and turned up fentanyl, cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA, LSD, marijuana, scales and baggies.

Taken together, the cases show a sustained enforcement push inside Key West neighborhoods, where one apartment, one residence or one tip can quickly open into a larger narcotics investigation. For residents, the concern is not just what officers pulled from one house on Laird Street, but whether that search exposes a broader network moving drugs through the city.