BIGGEST METH SEIZURE IN EASTERN US MADE IN ATLANTA

Biggest Meth Seizure In Eastern US Made In Atlanta

ATLANTA (AP) -- Federal authorities in Atlanta on Wednesday announced
the biggest seizure of Mexican crystal methamphetamine ever recorded
east of the Mississippi River.

Federal drug enforcement agents seized about 351 pounds of meth from
two houses in Duluth, in suburban Atlanta, in an operation that began
Sunday and extended into Monday morning. They arrested four Mexican
nationals, three of whom are in the U.S. illegally.

"This is very typical of what we see regarding Mexican drug
trafficking organizations and how they operate," said Rodney Benson,
who heads the Drug Enforcement Administration's Atlanta field office.
"They want to blend in to communities in nondescript locations to
conduct their business."

The seizure is the culmination of a two-month investigation. In
addition to the crystal meth, commonly known as "ice," agents found
one kilogram of cocaine, an undetermined amount of cash and chemicals
and equipment for making meth.

The wholesale value of the meth seized is about $6 million, Benson
said. The highly-addictive drug was packaged for distribution along
the East Coast and would likely be worth tens of millions of dollars
on the street, he said.

Over the last several years, the Atlanta area, and especially
suburban Gwinnett County, has become a major drug distribution hub
for Mexican drug trafficking organizations. Drugs are brought across
the southwest border and along the interstates to Atlanta, where they
are processed into the final product and repackaged. The traffickers
tend to compartmentalize their operations so a bust doesn't bring
down their whole operation.

The two houses involved were "classic stash houses," with virtually
no furniture, Benson said. No guns were found and many of the bags of
drugs were in the walls of the houses. Benson said he believes the
drugs seized were part of a larger shipment.

Authorities haven't yet made any definite links to a specific cartel.

Arrested were four Mexican nationals living in Duluth: Fernando
Chavez-Chavez, 28; Luis Naranjo-Leon, 23; Gerardo Antonio
Urena-Esquivel, 35; and Jose Raphael Lopez-Jimenez, 34. They face
state drug trafficking charges.

One of the houses where the meth was seized is a few doors down from
a house where a drug-related shooting Monday left one person dead and
three injured. Benson said there is no evidence that incident is
related to the drugs seized or people arrested in this week's bust.