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Fort Myers Regional Operations Center
(FMROC)

Special Agent in Charge
Eli Lawson

              Assistant Special Agent in Charge                                        Chief of Forensic Services  
                            Tracy Maurer                                                                 Roshale Gaytmenn


 

4700 Terminal Drive
Suite 1
Fort Myers, FL 33907
(239) 278-7170 | Fax (239) 278-7373

 



FDLE’s newest region, Fort Myers Regional Operations Center was founded in 1996 after growth in Southwest Florida.  FMROC encompasses 10 counties spanning from Manatee, Desoto, Highlands and Okeechobee counties in the north to Collier County in the south. 

FMROC agents and analysts work a variety of criminal investigations focusing on fraud, economic crime, organized theft, human trafficking and cybercrime.  The Fort Myers Crime Lab processes evidence for local law enforcement agencies throughout the state, including seized drugs and friction ridge/latent prints.  

During its history, FMROC investigators and forensic scientists have helped solve thousands of crimes.  In the 1980s, agents, working in what would later become FMROC, investigated Operation Peacemaker, a major drug-smuggling case resulting in more than 175 indictments and more than one million pounds of marijuana seized.  

FMROC agents investigated one of the most complex and lucrative human trafficking cases in Florida’s history, leading to multiple arrests and six victims being rescued in 2013. FMROC agents and lab analysts also helped solve the 2007 Punta Gorda Hog Trail murders and the 2006 strangling murders of a Clewiston family.  
In 2021, during Operation Thou Shalt Not Steal, FMROC agents arrested six people for stealing over $740,000 from hundreds of churches throughout the United States.  The suspects traveled to churches and stole donation checks from their mailboxes. They traveled throughout Florida and the United States, sometimes to as many as 85 churches a day. Many churches were victimized multiple times.  
 
In September 2022, agents arrested 24 violent gang members and associates, dismantling a deadly drug ring. Operation 13 Tiers, an FDLE-led multi-agency investigation, also resulted in more than 380 pounds of methamphetamine, 48 pounds of fentanyl and 45 guns seized and removed from Florida’s communities.
 


Florida Department of Law Enforcement Priorities

FDLE is composed of five areas: Executive Direction and Business Support, Criminal Investigations and Forensic Science, Criminal Justice Information, Criminal Justice Professionalism and Florida Capitol Police. FDLE’s duties, responsibilities and procedures are mandated through Chapter 943, FS, and Chapter 11, FAC. To learn more about these areas, read our Statement of Agency Organization and Operation or visit our Open Government page.