CONYERS BUST NETS $8 MILLION IN DRUGS

Federal agents have seized 7,500 pounds of marijuana and 53 pounds of
cocaine, together worth $8 million, in a bust they say should cripple a
drug smuggling ring.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents also say they found $1.3 million in
cash in a Conyers home that they allege was a regional drop-off point for a
Mexican drug cartel.

Arrested were Jose Francisco Hernandez-Padilla, 18, of Conyers; Alfonso
Longoria, 22, of Edinburg, Texas; and Ruben Briseno, 54, of Tucson, Ariz.,
DEA officials said. Each was charged with felony intent to distribute a
controlled substance and was being held in the Rockdale County Jail
awaiting arraignment today in federal court in Atlanta.

Authorities say a truck was loaded with drugs in Mexico on Friday, and the
cargo was discovered hidden inside concrete planters during a routine check
in Texas. Agents say they tracked the truck until it stopped at a Home
Depot store in Conyers on Sunday before being driven to a Conyers
warehouse, where the drugs were seized Monday.

The seizure of both drugs and cash should disable the ring, said DEA
Special Agent John Andrejko "It really makes a dent in their operation," he
said.