ROME, Ga. — Members of a large methamphetamine conversion and trafficking ring have been sentenced.
Rosa Elena Rangel Pantoja, 40, Dustin Burgess, 36, and Berzain Leal Batrez, 44, have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in the ring.
According to U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan, from at least October 2021 until August 2022, Rosa Elena Rangel Pantoja led a drug trafficking operation that made crystal meth in Georgia.
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Members of her operation brought liquid methamphetamine from Mexico to north Georgia in the gas tanks of semi-trucks.
They would then pump the liquid meth out of the trucks and cook it into crystal meth, using two hidden laboratories to convert the methamphetamine.
In March 2022, officials with the Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Georgia Bureau of Investigation were alerted that a woman, later identified as Rangel, was buying large amounts of acetone, which is a critical ingredient in converting liquid methamphetamine into crystal methamphetamine.
Based on the amount of acetone she was buying, agents suspected she was supplying it to a methamphetamine laboratory.
In August 2022, agents found one of the meth conversion labs in Canon, Georgia after seeing a semi-truck delivering liquid methamphetamine to the lab.
A search warrant was executed on the house and agents seized over 250 gallons of liquid meth and nearly 10 kilograms of crystal meth.
Rangel rented the space where the meth was made on the lower level of a “barndominium,” while she and her four children lived in the upper level of the same building.
In November 2022, agents found a second meth conversion lab in Austell, Georgia after tracking Batrez from Mexico to Georgia.
Agents seized over 160 gallons of liquid meth and 75 kilograms of crystal meth from that location.
Rangel was sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
Burgess was sentenced to 13 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
Batrez was sentenced to 11 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
Booking photos are unavailable because they face federal charges. Booking photos are not taken in the federal system.
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