Bend-area cocaine trafficking suspect arrested in guns-drawn traffic stop; raid on home turns up drugs, guns, silencers
Drug agents say they also found 3D printer used to make illegal gun parts
SUNRIVER, Ore. (KTVZ) – A suspected cocaine trafficker from southern Deschutes County was indicted Monday, more than two months after a guns-drawn traffic stop, drug agents said, and a raid on his home turned up a large quantity of cocaine, along with numerous guns, firearm suppressors, silencers and a 3D printer used to make illegal gun parts.
Justin Thomas Polit, 45, was indicated by a Deschutes County grand jury on felony charges of cocaine manufacture, possession and delivery, as well as felon in possession of a machine gun, short-barreled firearm or silencer, according to Sergeant Kent Vander Kamp of the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team.
A months-long CODE Team investigation and surveillance operation led to Polit’s arrest on April 5th. Early this year, drug agents identified Polit as a cocaine trafficker, allegedly importing large quantities of cocaine and distributing it throughout the Bend area.
With the help of Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies, CODE Team detectives pulled over Polit’s pickup truck on Lazy River Drive, near South Century Drive, Vander Kamp said. Because of his extensive history, Lazy River Drive was closed while deputies and drug agents conducted the high-risk traffic stop.
CODE Team detectives requested and executed a search warrant on Polit’s pickup truck and at his home on Kasserman Drive, in the Three Rivers area between Sunriver and La Pine.
The raid on the home found a “substantial quantity of cocaine,” along with the cash, guns, suppressors, silencers body armor and a 3D printing system used to manufacture illegal firearm parts.
In an unrelated case in March 2022, Polit petitioned the Deschutes County Circuit Court to let him buy and possess firearms under a state statute, Vander Kamp. The court did restore his gun rights, but he’s not allowed to make or possession firearm silencers, he said.
Polit was released at the scene Monday with a citation to appear in court for an arraignment now set for next Tuesday, according to court records. Federal charges are still being considered, Vander Kamp said.
