DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. -- "We will not stand by and let people deal drugs in this community."
Douglas County Sgt. Jesse Hambrick stood behind a podium wearing his khaki Douglas County Sheriff's Department uniform. He was there Monday afternoon to brief media on a meth trafficking ring stretching across three counties. It's an investigation that's already resulted in 18 arrests, and it's not over yet.
"This is a nasty drug," he said. It's one that's been plaguing outlying Metro Atlanta counties for decades.
It started with what law enforcement nicknamed "bathtub crank", methamphetamine inhaled through the nose. Around 2001, there was a swap to "ice", a smokable form of the drug.
Three pounds of it was seized, along with $20,000, seven vehicles, and a scattering of other illegal drugs.
PHOTOS: 18 arrested in huge drug trafficking case in Douglas County (story continues below gallery)
PHOTOS: 18 arrested in huge drug trafficking case in Douglas County
The multi-jurisdictional bust started with a single tip, called into the Douglas County Sheriff's Department in February 2017. Six search warrants were issued at homes in Cobb, Fulton, and Douglas counties.
Eighteen people were taken into custody. "This is one that we would consider a substantial conspiracy case," Sgt. Hambrick said.
He said those 18 people are believed to be linked to 50 pounds off meth trafficked over the past 60 days.
While Sgt. Hambrick said no one believes this wipes out the drug entirely, "this definitely puts dent in our area".
When asked to put that impact into perspective, he focused on just the three pounds seized in the bust.
"That's an estimated $80,000 street value," he said. It breaks down to 2500 doses. "We're talking about 2500 times that someone can't get this drug."
Those caught in the bust include 18 people facing a variety of charges including possession, racketeering, trafficking and conspiracy:
- Juvenal Castanda
- Wesley Paige
- John Cook
- Maria Mora
- Megan Minter
- Veronica Bosworth
- Nicole Meece
- Christle Parker
- Britney Lawrence
- Ambre Perry
- Jermaude Earl
- Barry Orr
- Keith Paine
- Donald Bailey
- Clint Wilson
- Joshua Hargrove
- Brittany Beal
- Kenneth Todd Beaver
