$2M-plus drug bust called ‘game-changer’ in Georgia

About $2 million worth of heroin was seized by authorities in Gwinnett County.

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

About $2 million worth of heroin was seized by authorities in Gwinnett County.

In what one official called “a game-changer,” about $2 million in heroin as well as methamphetamine and cash was found in Gwinnett County, authorities said Friday.

A traffic stop Feb. 20 by the Georgia State Patrol led to police dogs finding drugs in the car, officials said at a news conference. They seized about $200,000 in cash and half a kilogram of heroin.

That led them to a stash house on Golden Valley Drive in Lawrenceville. About $50,000 in cash was found there, along with 25 kilos of heroin, two kilos of meth and two kilos of cocaine. In addition, officials seized a .9mm pistol and an AK-47 rifle.

Two men from Mexico — Miguel Carahure-Guzman, 28, of Guerrero, and Armando Lando-Hernandez, 31, of Veracruz — face charges of possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances (specifically heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine). The Gwinnett home belonged to Carahure-Guzman.

The agent in charge of Drug Enforcement Administration operations in Atlanta spoke of what the bust means.

“Unfortunately, what this also represents to us and the men and women in law enforcement,” Robert Murphy said, “is the scope and sophistication of the organization that we are going to identify, target and destroy, and we’ll put them in jail.”

U.S. Attorney “BJay” Pak said the seizure is more confirmation of the growing opioid crisis in Georgia.

Added Murphy: “It is no exaggeration that the abuse of opioids has reached epidemic proportions in this nation. The defendants in this case are a true menace to society and the poison that they were peddling will never reach the intended consumer.”

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