Members of a large methamphetamine conversion and trafficking ring have been sentenced.
Rosa Elena Rangel Pantoja, 40, Dustin Burgess, 36, and Berzain Leal Batrez, 44, have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in the ring.
According to U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan, from at least October 2021 until August 2022, Rosa Elena Rangel Pantoja led a drug trafficking operation that made crystal meth in Georgia.
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Members of her operation brought liquid methamphetamine from Mexico to north Georgia in the gas tanks of semi-trucks.
They would then pump the liquid meth out of the trucks and cook it into crystal meth, using two hidden laboratories to convert the methamphetamine.
In March 2022, officials with the Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Georgia Bureau of Investigation were alerted that a woman, later identified as Rangel, was buying large amounts of acetone, which is a critical ingredient in converting liquid methamphetamine into crystal methamphetamine.