MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 2023

An investigation the Jackson County Drug Task Force spearheaded has led to multiple federal charges against a Kansas City man linked to at least three fatal fentanyl overdoses in 2022. They were still gathering evidence against Tiger Dean Draggoo when exigent circumstances prompted them to seek a warrant for his immediate arrest Friday, January 20.

“We had another fentanyl overdose being connected to this guy on Wednesday (January 18),” said Dan Cummings, Officer-In-Charge of the Jackson County Drug Task Force.

A federal grand jury was already scheduled to begin considering evidence collected against the 22-year-old Draggoo during a September 2022 search of his south Kansas City apartment: 17 firearms, nearly a half-million dollars in cash, eight suspected LSD tabs and numerous pills that contained fentanyl.

“The grand jury was convening Monday (January 23), but we couldn’t wait,” Cumming said. “Fentanyl’s too dangerous. [Assistant] U.S. Attorney Brad Kavanaugh did a great job finding a judge on Friday evening to get us an emergency arrest warrant. 

“Our attitude was, ‘Nobody sleeps until we have this guy in jail.’”

‘A Guy Selling Pills to School Kids’

Cases like this, COMBAT Executive Director Vince Ortega pointed out, highlight the preventive role the Drug Task Force plays in Jackson County—and the surrounding area.

“It’s not just about arresting dealers but preventing more of their drugs from getting into circulation, causing more overdoses,” Ortega said. “Just two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal. That’s a speck. 

“The prevalence of fentanyl is increasing. Last year the Drug Task Force seized more than 22 pounds of fentanyl. That’s around 10 million milligrams, and that’s on top of 30,366 counterfeit M-30 pills containing fentanyl.”

COMBAT funds the Jackson County Drug Task Force, which launched this investigation late last summer.

“We got a report that someone was selling pills to high school kids in Belton and Grandview,” Cummings said. “We did have a first name to go on—Tiger.”

Three Teenagers Died From ‘Acute Fentanyl Intoxication’

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri has charged Draggoo on three counts: possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute, possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime and illegally possessing machine guns. After his initial appearance before the U.S. District Court in Kansas City on Monday (January 23), the official criminal complaint against Draggoo was unsealed, revealing more specific details:

• Three Belton, Missouri, teenagers associated with Draggoo died from “acute fentanyl intoxication” between January and September of 2022, according to an affidavit filed in the case.

• The 17 firearms seized last September included a 5.56-caliber rifle converted into a machine gun, eight other rifles, four pistols, two revolvers and a 12-gauge shotgun. An illegal Glock switch, used to convert a Glock pistol into fully-automatic machine gun, was also confiscated.

• The search also resulted in seizing $431,269 in cash from Draggoo’s apartment and vehicle. In addition to the drugs, cash and weapons, law enforcement officers found a ballistic vest and money counting machine.

A Months-Long Investigation

Cummings pointed out, “And now there’s even more.” But he could not elaborate on what “more” was found after new search warrants of Draggoo’s apartment and vehicles were executed following the January 20 arrest. 

During a detention hearing last Thursday (January 26), a U.S. District Court judge orderd Draggoo be held without bail.

The investigation of Draggoo spanned more than six months. Four local agencies participated—the Drug Task Force, the Jackson County and Cass County Sherriff Departments—along with the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Kansas City Police Tactical Unit served the arrest warrant January 20.

Draggoo twice sped off from law enforcement officers attempting to pull him over for traffic stops last summer—in July and then in September. The search warrant was served on his apartment the same day of the September incident.

“We kept his apartment under surveillance,” Cummings said, “and Friday before we made the arrest, my guys told me, ‘He’s back.’ We went and got him.”