Breaking Bad in Hamilton County, Ohio's Biggest Meth Bust Yields $1 Million in Drugs

HAMILTON COUNTY, OH — Ohio Sheriff, Jim Neil says that it's the largest meth bust in Ohio history. On Wednesday, drug agents conducted a sting operation which resulted in the seizure of 16.5 pounds of crystal meth with an estimated street value of nearly $1 million.

Three suspects from Atlanta were arrested in the undercover operation. Regional Narcotics Unit agents arrested the trio after they arrived from Atlanta and delivered the drugs, the result of a lengthy undercover operation.

cleveland19.com reports that agents believe Atlanta may have been the destination for meth cooked in Mexican “super labs." An agent with the Regional Narcotics Unit explained that the Mexican super labs make the best and most potent methamphetamine which fetches high prices and high demand.

Arturo Talavera Ayala, 19, Rafael Ayala, 25, and Kimberly Jane Johnson, 42, of Atlanta were arrested.

“Usually, they don’t find it in bulk amounts like this because it’s been brought into a community, it’s been disseminated to lower level dealers,” Neil told cleveland19. "This stuff would have gone into not only Ohio but Indiana and Kentucky."

Previously, the largest meth bust in Ohio occurred in Youngstown six years ago.

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