6 metro Atlanta area men sentenced for roles in drug trafficking organization
The U.S. Department of Justice announced six defendants from the metro Atlanta area were sentenced for the parts they played 'distributing deadly fentanyl and methamphetamine' throughout the region.
According to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia, all six men were involved in trafficking and distributing drugs from Mexico to the Atlanta area.
'These defendants distributed substantial amounts of fentanyl and methamphetamine with no regard for the grave public safety risk,' Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr. said.
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Federal agents began investigating a drug trafficking organization in 2022 when they learned a Mexico-based supplier was moving narcotics like methamphetamine in liquid form to Atlanta, where it was then turned into crystal meth.
'During an early phase of the investigation, defendant Erik Rosales-Lopez was arrested in December 2022 at a residence used to process liquid methamphetamine that had been mixed with paint,' the USDOJ said. 'Rosales Lopez had distributed methamphetamine on three previous occasions, including to an undercover agent.'
During a search of Rosales-Lopez's home, agents found 11 kilograms of finished crystal meth.
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A few months later, an April 2023 operation led to a seizure of 16 kilograms of meth during a traffic stop of defendants Brayan Garcia-Picasso and Bryan Pacheco-Carranza.
USAO said Garcia-Picasso and Pacheco-Carranza let a home believed to be used as a meth lab and were pulled over. Both were under surveillance at the time.
When the home was searched after the traffic stop, agents found about six kilograms of meth and equipment to convert it.
Investigators continued their work and arrested Alex Chamorro-Valencia in June 2023 after searching a vehicle with nearly a kilogram of meth. When agents searched a home they'd seen Chamorro-Valencia leaving, they found a second meth lab used by the same trafficking organization and recovered 15 gallons of liquid methamphetamine and 135 kilograms of crystal meth.
At the house, agents arrested Hedgarciney Gameno-Cortez.
'The defendants in this case were responsible for introducing massive quantities of deadly narcotics into the metro-Atlanta area—methamphetamine that was trafficked across borders, chemically altered, and distributed without regard for the devastating impact on public health and safety,' Steven N. Schrank, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia and Alabama, said. 'Through the combined efforts of HSI and our federal, state, and local partners, we've disrupted a dangerous supply chain and brought key members of this organization to justice.'
The following defendants were convicted and sentenced:
Juventino Rodriguez was sentenced to 54 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release. Rodriguez was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl after he pled guilty on December 19, 2024.
Garcia-Picasso was sentenced to 12-and-a-half years in prison followed by four years of supervised release. Garcia-Picasso was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine after he pled guilty on November 7, 2023.
Pacheco-Carranza was sentenced to six years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Pacheco-Carranza was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine after he pled guilty on January 18, 2024.
Chamorro-Valencia was sentenced to eight years in prison followed by four years of supervised release. Chamorro-Valencia was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine after he pled guilty on October 16, 2023.
Hedgarciney Gameno-Cortez was sentenced to eight years in prison followed by four years of supervised release. Gameno-Cortez was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine after he pled guilty on February 28, 2024.
Erik Josue Rosales-Lopez was sentenced to seven years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Rosales-Lopez was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine after he pled guilty on July 31, 2023.
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