200 Pounds Of Meth Seized In Record Drug Bust: Cherokee Sheriff

CHEROKEE COUNTY, GA — Authorities say they have recently made the largest bust of methamphetamine in Cherokee County's history, seizing about 200 pounds of the narcotic.

The multi-agency seizure was conducted Monday at an undisclosed storage facility in Cherokee, the local sheriff's office said Wednesday. The street value of the massive amount of methamphetamine is about $500,000, authorities said.

The sheriff's office added the seizure "represents a significant blow to a drug trafficking organization with known ties to El Salvador, Mexico, and the violent street gang MS-13."

Authorities say they are not releasing suspect names or additional details at this time.

"The seizure is the result of a lengthy and ongoing investigation targeting a criminal network responsible for distributing large quantities of methamphetamine throughout the metro Atlanta area. The collaborative effort between local, state and federal partners led to the successful disruption of this operation and the removal of a substantial amount of dangerous drugs from the community," authorities said in a news release.

This comes nearly a week after federal prosecutors announced the indictment of Mexican national Marco Cueto-Rosales, 47, in connection with the seizure of 325 pounds of methamphetamine on Oct. 10 at a storage facility in Norcross.

Methamphetamine, a synthetic stimulant, has "high addiction potential" and is a factor in the country's overdose crisis, according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse.

In Georgia, there were at least 228 stimulant-related deaths from April until June, according to data from the state public health department. There were 496 related hospitalizations and emergency room visits.

It is unknown how many of those may have involved methamphetamine.