48 people arrested in north Georgia drug trafficking bust, officials say

HALL COUNTY, Ga. — Dozens of people were arrested this week in connection with a meth ring that investigators say was pumping drugs into several counties.

Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman stood beside several other metro Atlanta sheriffs and officials from the GBI, FBI and Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Task Force to announce the bust.

It took all of these agencies and more to take a down the drug ring in “Operation Taking Care of Business.”

“We didn’t just take drugs off the street – what we did was save lives,” Freeman said.

Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes attended the news conference held Friday as officials announced more details of the arrests.

For nearly a year, investigators conducted surveillance to see how large amounts of methamphetamine and heroin were getting into the north Georgia area.

They collected enough information to get warrants on 48 people and started to arrest them Thursday. By Friday, they had everyone in custody.

When investigators searched the suspects’ homes, police said they confiscated 50 kilos of methamphetamine, half a kilo of heroin, 20 firearms, six cars and $70,000 in cash.

The GBI said the street value associated with all the drugs seized is approximately $705,000.

“The hard work has been put in – just to send a message that we’re not going to tolerate whats been going on in our communities,” Habersham County Sheriff Joey Taylor said.

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The photos may look like police just took a bunch of drugs off the street. But officials said there’s much more to it.

“This is not just a drug bust – this is a disruption of a criminal element,” Freeman said. “These things trickle down. They create violent crime, property crime. They create things that disrupt our communities.”

With ~ 50 kilograms of methamphetamine seized & 48 in custody, a major Drug Trafficking Organization has been dismantled in "Operation Taking Care of Business”https://t.co/Xgl5qYzUHl pic.twitter.com/4YCDWRVt2g
— GA Bureau of Investigation (@GBI_GA) July 10, 2020

Police said they arrested suspects who were working at the highest level of distribution to the lowest and more arrests could be coming.

The ring was operating in several different counties, but the Hall County District Attorney made it easier for prosecutors to keep all of the cases together.

The following individuals were arrested, according to the GBI release here.