A man who turned a rented house in Ellenwood into a clandestine methamphetamine conversion lab has been sentenced to 16 years and three months in federal prison, closing out a case that investigators say involved more than 770 kilograms of the drug. Florencio Magana-Sarabia, 44, of Michoacán, Mexico, pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He will also serve five years of supervised release once his prison term ends.
According to WSB-TV, the case traces back to October 20, 2023, when federal law enforcement officers watched several men loading boxes into a Toyota Tacoma outside the Ellenwood home. Georgia State Patrol troopers pulled the truck over after it left the house, and agents seized 134 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine from driver Luis Santiago Urrutia-Mata and passenger José Luis Avalos-Menera during that stop.
Back at the house, which agents say Magana-Sarabia had rented, investigators discovered a working laboratory stocked with 260 kilograms of finished crystal methamphetamine and 100 gallons of still-liquid methamphetamine. Three guns were found inside the lab, adding to the weapons recovered from the property and the traffic stop. As agents moved in, Erik Santana-Sanchez tried to flee the conversion lab and was apprehended on the spot, per the same account.
Three Co-Conspirators Also Sentenced
Santana-Sanchez, 39, of Guerrero, Mexico, admitted to assisting in manufacturing the drugs and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute. He was sentenced to 78 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release. Urrutia-Mata, 26, of Sinaloa, Mexico, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and received 78 months in prison plus five years of supervised release…