Federal agents say they cut off a major supply line of fentanyl into metro Atlanta this month, arresting two men after seizing roughly five kilograms of the drug in coordinated raids in Doraville, Dunwoody and Stone Mountain. Authorities say the stash was destined for the local street market, and both suspects now face federal charges.
What authorities say they seized
According to the DEA, agents on Feb. 5 were watching a rented moving truck parked at a Doraville warehouse when they saw 27-year-old Osiel Adame-Gomez carry a black backpack toward a storage unit. When officers searched the unit, they reported finding one kilogram of fentanyl with an estimated value of about $30,000. A later DeKalb County traffic stop of a car driven by 26-year-old Miguel Velazquez-Garcia turned up a second kilogram, the agency said.
Search warrants executed at houses tied to Velazquez-Garcia in Stone Mountain and Stonecrest turned up another three kilograms of fentanyl, along with what investigators described as a large amount of suspected drug proceeds, according to the DEA account.
Court appearances and custody
Adame-Gomez, of Loganville, and Velazquez-Garcia, of Atlanta, appeared in federal court earlier this month and were ordered held without bond, according to 11Alive. Magistrate court records list a single charge for each man, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and prosecutors say the case will be handled by federal prosecutors in Atlanta.
How this fits into metro Atlanta enforcement
Federal officials say the bust is part of a broader push in metro Atlanta that has produced multi-kilogram drug seizures and lengthy prison sentences in recent years. A U.S. Attorney’s Office release last year detailed a multi-year investigation that led to more than 250 kilograms of methamphetamine, thousands of fentanyl pills and dozens of convictions across the region.
Charges and next steps
Both men are charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Johnny Baer, Jamie Bircoll and John DeGenova, federal officials said. U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg has called fentanyl “a highly lethal weapon of mass destruction,” and the DEA says these latest cases are part of Operation Take Back America, according to the recent DEA statement…