LAURENS STOPS INTERSTATE TRAFFIC FOR DRUG CHECKS

DUBLIN - A three-day crackdown on Interstate 16 in Laurens County netted 60
drug arrests, including a record 102 pounds of marijuana in a single stop.

Sheriff's Capt. Grady Toney said interstate traffic was routed through a
rest stop, where deputies checked licenses and drug dogs sniffed around
cars. Thursday, the first day of the operation, a dog alerted on a car, and
officers found a travel bag containing 102 pounds of marijuana, Toney said.

The two occupants of the car, Lynda Susan Williams, 44, of Savannah, and
Garfield Morgan, 31, of Lauder Hill, Fla., were charged with trafficking
marijuana.

In another stop, Kelvin Lee Simmons, 28, of Swainsboro, was arrested after
deputies found 6.5 ounces of cocaine in his vehicle, Toney said. He was
charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and could face
additional charges.

In all, the operation yielded 60 drug arrests and five DUI arrests. Three
fugitives were also caught.

Toney said the marijuana bust was the largest he can recall in the county.

The operation involved a large segment of the sheriff's office, with some
deputies and jailers working off-duty hours, said Toney. It was a joint
effort by the sheriff's Interstate Criminal Enforcement team, deputies and
a Department of Corrections canine unit from Chester.

Toney said the large number of arrests is an indication of how often drugs
pass through the county on a daily basis.

"There's a heck of a lot of it," he said. "There's more than we know."

More arrests as a result of the operation could come, pending the outcome
of further investigation.