The Blaine County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics made a significant drug arrest in Watonga last week.
According to Undersheriff Eric Denning, the officers were alerted to suspicious activity at the Watonga Lucky Star Casino by that establishment’s security officers. They began observing suspect vehicles in the parking lot and followed one as it left, making a traffic stop near Geary. During that stop, Denning said, a K9 officer alerted to a large amount of methamphetamine in the car.
The female driver admitted she had come to Watonga from Oklahoma City to engage in prostitution. She also told police the male passenger had paid her to transport meth from Oklahoma City to the casino.
The client she had been hired to see engaged her in prostitution, she said, and purchased a large amount of methamphetamine. Denning said the amount of the illegal substance sold was enough – more than 20 grams – to constitute trafficking. It was later determined that more than 30 grams of meth were exchanged, and chocolate infused with hallucinogenic mushrooms were also alleged to have been sold.
The male passenger, identified as Donald Lee England, has been charged with distribution of controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute, possession of a controlled substance, possession of paraphernalia and accessing a computer system or network with unlawful intent.
Because the investigation into the incident is ongoing, very little other information was released. However, Denning said the female driver was cooperating and may have been the victim of human trafficking. The alleged buyer of the drugs has not been identified, and although he had come to Oklahoma from out of state, does not appear to be in the Blaine County Jail. The source of the drugs in question has only been traced as far as Oklahoma City, although the investigation remains open.
Denning said the casino security force, the BIA and OBN were instrumental in the arrests. Because all the accused lawbreakers were non-Native, the arrests could be made by the sheriff’s office. He also said this is the second arrest involving prostitution charges made in a week in Watonga and that unbeknownst to most of the public, it is not uncommon for prostitution and/or drug rings to operate in casinos in plain sight.