Police in Coral Gables have accused a doctor from South Florida of bringing packets of the banned narcotic GBL from abroad and having them sent to a duplex he owns.
An arrest affidavit filed Thursday charges Darion Garcia, an assistant professor of radiology and physician at the University of Miami Health System, with trafficking gamma-butyrolactone, or GBL.
Police Officers Had Arrived With Their Guns Drawn
The duplex on the Southwest 22nd Terrace received shipments from France last month, which prompted the investigation.
According to a resident at one house, he received a phone call from his neighbor the previous month informing him that SWAT and police officers had arrived with their guns drawn and had kicked open his neighbor’s door after receiving the box.
Garcia sent a parcel to his house a few days ago, he claims. According to the arrest report, he informed officers that he had opened the shipment and found plastic bags filled with liquid.
The renter stated that he was unsure of the material. He said he was horrified to hear of the arrest on Friday and that Garcia had put him in danger. When Garcia showed up for bond court on Friday, the judge had some harsh things to say about him.
Garcia Isn’t A Jackson Employee
“He should be so ashamed being here, he is a medical doctor experiencing all those years of education & help committing his whole life to helping people & got apprehended for this, yet that’s between him & his lawyer & the criminal justice system,” added the magistrate.
Garcia isn’t a Jackson employee, but he has the credentials to work in their hospitals, Jackson Hospital confirmed in a statement. His privileges, though, have been suspended. A $15,000 bond was posted by Garcia.