DEA agents seize $1.5M worth of crystal meth from Norcross storage unit

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Lots of people drive by a storage facility on busy Jimmy Carter Boulevard every day, not knowing that close to 1,000 pounds of meth was inside the units.

The DEA said it’s an example of how metro Atlanta is very much involved in cartel drug wars.

There were more than 855 pounds of crystal meth found in the Norcross storage unit on Monday, estimated to be worth $1.5 million on the streets.

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“We can’t allow this poison to make it to the street,” DEA Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Ryan Murphy told Channel 2′s Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson. “It shows you the strategic nature of Atlanta for the cartels.”

Murphy said it’s common for large amounts of drugs like this to be hiding in places the public doesn’t expect.

“This clearly came across the border and was processed here in Atlanta and is getting ready for distribution,” Murphy said.

The DEA task force that combines local and federal authorities arrested Franklin Pineda Orrosquieta, 33, on Monday on drug charges.

Murphy said the task force acted on information that led them to the storage facility where they discovered the massive amount of meth.

The DEA has linked the finished meth to the Jalisco New Generation cartel and they said Atlanta is part of the cartel drug war.

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“They’re warring in Mexico and Atlanta is a major hub and they’re warring in Atlanta for control as well,” Murphy said.

It’s not the first large DEA meth seizure this year and Murphy said his team is committed to getting more off the streets.

“We know it’s going to keep coming across the border. That’s a whole other issue. But as long as it’s coming here, we’re going to keep attacking it,” Murphy said.

The investigation is still active and Johnson reveals how agents are working to find where all that meth was made coming up on Channel 2 Action News at 6 p.m.

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