1,000 pounds of meth tied to Mexican cartel seized in DeKalb County

 

​

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. – Federal agents say they’ve made one of the largest methamphetamine seizures in metro Atlanta in recent years, taking more than 1,000 pounds of the drug from two stash houses in DeKalb County.

What we know:

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced the bust Monday, saying five people were arrested — all alleged members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG, a violent cartel based in Mexico. Authorities said four of the suspects were in the country illegally.

Officials said the drugs had a wholesale value of about $1.3 million and could have sold for an estimated $5 million on the street.

Authorities said the drugs, taken from a Stone Mountain home and the Indigo Apartments on Northeast Expressway, had a wholesale value of about $1.3 million and could have sold for an estimated $5 million on the street.

Agents said two young children were found at each location. Robert Murphy, special agent in charge of the DEA’s Atlanta Division, said cartel members bring children as a cover. “They send the family on purpose. The cartels aren’t stupid. They want them to blend in. So you see them as your neighbors and you see the kids playing out front. They’re not calling attention to themselves.”

Hertzberg described CJNG as “an ultra violent, murderous Mexico-based drug cartel” and said Atlanta’s role as a major transportation hub makes it a prime location for cartel operations. “They stash large quantities like this in Atlanta to be distributed throughout the U.S.,” he said.

What they’re saying:

“What we have here, over a thousand pounds, was seized over the course of just three days,” said Theodore S. Hertzberg, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. “There was 700 pounds seized on one day and two days later another 300 pounds from just a few miles away. This is all in one county in the course of half of one week. So these drugs are absolutely out there.”

Neighbors described the bust as shocking. “It was lights and police lights everywhere,” said one woman who asked only to be identified as V. “The entire street from the stop sign up to near the house. It was filled on both sides with cars, police cars.”

She said she never suspected her neighbors. “Honestly, you wouldn’t have thought anything about it, they were just a regular family,” she said.

What you can do:

Officials acknowledged that while the bust will hurt CJNG, it will not stop their operations. They urged residents to report suspicious activity in their neighborhoods anonymously by clicking here.

What’s next:

All five suspects are charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Officials said while the bust was significant, more cartel stash houses are likely hidden across metro Atlanta.