Police: Accused dealer caught in car packed with deadly drugs

CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — Authorities busted a man they say is a high-level supplier of heroin and cocaine to teens and young adults in metro Atlanta.

Like many suburban counties, Cherokee County has a problem with heroin that is picked up in Atlanta and then sold in the communities.

Following a tip, a drug task force nabbed a man who they say was a big supplier.

“He was the supplier for that community, he was the person who provides individuals out on the street,” Cmdr. Phil Price with the Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad said.

Price says Essam Drinkard, 30, was a key supplier of illegal drugs to street dealers in “The Cut,” an area just outside Canton described as an open-air drug marketplace.

They arrested him on a traffic violation near the neighborhood.

“We got him on his way to resupply, and that's why we got such a large amount of drugs,” Price said.

In Drinkard's car, authorities say they found 56 grams of cocaine, 35 grams of heroin, Ecstacy, hundreds of prescription pills and a handgun.

“They can be anywhere from school age on up,” Price said.

Chris Blackstone owns an auto repair shop near The Cut.

He says he often confronted young people parking near his shop to walk up in The Cut to buy drugs.

“We talked to several of the people who were pulling (up) and they didn’t deny it,” Blackstone said.

“They said they're going to buy drugs?” Channel 2’s Tom Regan asked.

“Oh yeah,” Blackstone said.

Fed up, Blackstone took to social media to stop it.

“I noticed it was all teenagers who were pulling up. So I figured the one teens are afraid of is their parents so I went on Facebook and started blasting their pictures on Facebook,” Blackstone said.

His strategy worked. The drug buyers vanished.

Authorities hope their recent arrest will put a big dent in illegal drug sales in the area.

“We will do everything we can to put the folks in jail,” Price said.

Price says they seize more meth than any other drug, but the most deadly overdoses are still from heroin and prescription pills.

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