MUSKEGON, Mich. – Police said they found cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine, assault rifles, a shotgun, pistols, and other drug equipment during a massive bust at a Michigan home.
Michigan State Police investigation
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Michigan State Police, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, and the West Michigan Enforcement Team have been investigating drug trafficking schemes throughout Muskegon and Muskegon Heights since 2019, they said.
Saul Douglas Briggs and his associates have been at the center of an investigation, according to a court filing from last month.
Evidence of drug distribution
Investigators said they identified a house in the 2000 block of Letart Avenue in Muskegon as the location Briggs used as a drug and/or money stash house. They believed he was using the location to acquire large quantities of fentanyl or heroin, break it down into smaller quantities, and distribute those packages to customers, according to court documents.
From April 1 until June 2022, authorities monitoring the house reported seeing “a pattern of activity that investigators believed was indicative of drug trafficking.”
Twice, once in April and once in May, people arrived at the house to deliver large, brown boxes that appeared to be about the same size as television boxes, according to officials. Briggs personally accepted the delivery in April, investigators said.
After the boxes were delivered, officials reported an increase of people coming to the house and staying for short periods of time. They said that’s indicative of drug trafficking.
At 12:21 p.m. June 8, investigators said they saw Briggs arrive at the home in a white Dodge Ram truck. He backed into the front driveway and then went inside, according to authorities.
Officials said a maroon sedan arrived at 12:47 p.m. and parked in the back of the house. A man got out of the driver’s seat and retrieved a brown box from the back seat before going in, court records show.
Investigators said they used these observations to obtain a search warrant for the house.
Search warrant discoveries
Briggs went to the Lakes Mall in Muskegon around 1:15 p.m. June 15, according to authorities. He met with a “known drug trafficking associate” in the parking lot and then stayed at the mall for a short time, court documents say.
Briggs then drove to his home in Muskegon, where he stayed until around 3:30 p.m., investigators said. He left his home and drove to the Letart Avenue house in a white Dodge Ram truck, according to officials.
When Briggs got to the house on Letart Avenue, investigators executed the search warrant, they said. Briggs fled out the back and jumped over the chain-link fence, but he was quickly taken into custody, according to court records.
Nobody else was inside the Letart Avenue location at the time of the search warrant, investigators said.
Officials said they found distribution-level quantities of suspected cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin. They also found a small baggie of suspected crystal methamphetamine, according to authorities.
Also inside the home were cutting agents used to mix drugs for sale, digital scales, several empty brown boxes, multiple presses used to package drugs, and multiple guns, investigators said.
A Springfield Armory Hellcat 9 mm pistol was found underneath the driver’s seat of the Dodge Ram that Briggs had driven to the location, police said.
Four assault-style rifles, a tactical-style shotgun, and a Glock pistol with an extended magazine were recovered, according to officials. Three of the rifles were found in a bedroom, and the Glock pistol was on a shelf in a pantry space, court records show.
A kilogram press used to package drugs before shipping or selling was also inside the pantry, authorities said.
“Investigators recovered several other guns from the basement of the residence,” the criminal complaint reads.
Authorities said they’re in the process of weighing and testing the drugs found during the search. They said they have confirmed the recovery of more than 900 grams of fentanyl and about 54.5 grams of cocaine.
Charges
Officials said Briggs has previous state and federal felony convictions, including a drug trafficking conviction, that prohibit him from possessing firearms.
Investigators concluded that there’s probable cause to charge Briggs with possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and felon in possession of firearms.
