In what one official called “a game-changer,” about $2 million
in heroin as well as methamphetamine and cash was found in Gwinnett County,
authorities said Friday.
A traffic stop Feb. 20 by
the Georgia State Patrol led to police dogs finding drugs in the car, officials
said at a news conference. They seized about $200,000 in cash and half a
kilogram of heroin.
That led them to a stash
house on Golden Valley Drive in Lawrenceville. About $50,000 in cash was found
there, along with 25 kilos of heroin, two kilos of meth and two kilos of
cocaine. In addition, officials seized a .9mm pistol and an AK-47 rifle.
Two men from Mexico
— Miguel Carahure-Guzman, 28, of Guerrero, and Armando Lando-Hernandez,
31, of Veracruz — face charges of possession with the intent to
distribute controlled substances (specifically heroin, methamphetamine and
cocaine). The Gwinnett home belonged to Carahure-Guzman.
The agent in charge of
Drug Enforcement Administration operations in Atlanta spoke of what the bust
means.
“Unfortunately, what this
also represents to us and the men and women in law enforcement,” Robert Murphy
said, “is the scope and sophistication of the organization that we are going
to identify, target and destroy, and we’ll put them in jail.”
U.S. Attorney “BJay”
Pak said the seizure is more confirmation of the growing opioid crisis in
Georgia.
Added Murphy: “It is no exaggeration that the abuse of opioids has reached epidemic proportions in this nation. The defendants in this case are a true menace to society and the poison that they were peddling will never reach the intended consumer.”