PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — After nearly a dozen arrests, a Paulding County crime ring has been busted, leading to the recovery of dozens of stolen firearms and large quantities of drugs. That's the latest from the Paulding County Sheriff's Office.
Haralson-Paulding Drug Task Force Agents, Paulding County detectives and several Paulding County law enforcement units arrested a dozen suspects in Dallas and Hiram between Jan. 26 and Jan. 31 last year, the sheriff's office said over social media. Law enforcement executed search warrants across four separate addresses to make the arrests.
The 11 suspects arrested in the bust are facing the following charges:
- Suspect out of Dallas, GA. (Theft by receiving, possession of sawed-off shotgun)
- Suspect out of Dallas, GA. (Theft by receiving, possession of sawed-off shotgun)
- Suspect out of Chattanooga, TN. (Theft by receiving, possession of a sawed-off shotgun)
- Suspect out of Dallas, GA. (Trafficking in methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon)
- Suspect out of Dallas, GA. (Trafficking in methamphetamine and possession of heroin)
- Suspect out of Douglasville, GA. (Driving without a license)
- Suspect out of Dallas, GA. (Arrest warrant, Bartow County)
- Suspect out of Dallas, GA. (Possession of marijuana, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, theft by receiving stolen property, possession of heroin, possession of methamphetamine)
- Suspect out of Dallas, GA. (Theft by receiving stolen property, possession of marijuana, possession of heroin, possession of methamphetamine)
- Suspect out of Douglasville, GA. (Theft by receiving stolen property, failure to appear warrant, crossing the guard line of the jail with contraband, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of methamphetamine)
- Suspect out of Hiram, GA (Theft by receiving stolen property, failure to appear warrant (Paulding County), possession of methamphetamine)
Sheriff: Multiple arrested in Paulding County gun, drug trafficking ring
The crime ring bust began with an investigation of approximately 100 guns that were reported stolen within the county. The Haralson-Paulding Drug Task Force determined the four addresses targeted in the warrants were allegedly being used for storing illegal guns and trafficking illegal drugs.
Law enforcement ultimately recovered 68 of the reported stolen guns, large quantities of narcotics-- including methamphetamine, heroin, ecstasy, cocaine, prescription pills, marijuana-- and $3,636 in the crime ring bust, authorities said. Additional firearms were also recovered in Carroll County and Douglas County. The sheriff's office valued the drugs seized in the bust at $12,000.00.
Paulding County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division, Warrants Division, Crime Suppression Unit, Crime Scene Unit and Haralson-Paulding Drug Task Force Agents all participated in the operation.